Engineering and application of functionalized polymers in optical signal processing

Summary form only given. Polymers in general and functionalized polymers in particular have emerged recently as an interesting class of materials for applications in photonics. This interest is motivated mainly by their performance, low cost, versatility and easy processing. Amorphous polymers, owing to their good optical wave propagation properties, are widely used for fabrication of optical elements such as planar or confined waveguides, switches, optical fibers, etc. These polymers usually show low nonlinear optical response. But functionalizing them with active NLO chromophores renders them optically active and thus applicable in different devices requiring a high NLO response. Materials with both second and third order NLO properties may be obtained in this way. The thin film processing, linear and nonlinear optical properties of these polymers are reviewed and their practical applications, problems and limitations presented and discussed.