Electro-optic Properties of a Guest-Host System Containing a Phenothiazine-based Chromophore: Effect of the Chromophore Density on the Macroscopic Optical Nonlinearity

We have prepared a phenothiazine-based nonlinear optical (NLO) chromophore that displays a fairly high microscopic nonlinearity through intramolecular charge transfer. The phenothiazine unit plays important roles of contributing its high electron donating ability and connecting the resonance pathway through a conjugative effect in the cyclized ring adjacent to the aromatic ring. Theoretical calculations and an absorption spectroscopic study provided useful information concerning the microscopic nonlinearity of the chromophores. We investigated the electro-optic (EO) properties of the guest-host systems in amorphous polycarbonate containing the synthesized chromophores at different concentrations under different poling temperatures. A real-time pole and probe method provided a much greater amount of information regarding how the EO properties can arise and how they can be optimized.