Hilary L. Hampsch

Second harmonic generation in corona poled, doped polymer films as a function of corona processing

A novel technique for examining corona processing variables in thin‐film organic second‐order nonlinear optical materials is discussed. Positive and negative polarity dc‐coronas were used to pole doped glassy polymer films in situ at room temperature in air, helium, and nitrogen environments to create materials capable of second harmonic generation (SHG). Films are poled in the beam path and are continuously sampled. For a given atmosphere and poling time, films poled in a positive corona show greater SHG intensities than those poled with negative coronas. The temporal stability of the SHG intensity for films poled with a positive corona increases from air to nitrogen to helium, and for a negative corona is similar in nitrogen and helium atmospheres, and less stable in air. Possible mechanisms are discussed.

Second Harmonic Generation In Corona Poled Polymer Films As A Function Of Processing Atmosphere And Corona Polarity

The effect of processing atmosphere and corona polarity has been considered when using a dc-corona to electric field pole polymer films for second harmonic generation (SHG). Positive and negative polarity coronas were used to pole doped polystyrene and poly(methyl methacrylate) films in air, nitrogen, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide environments. A possible correlation between the magnitude of the initial SHG intensity and the ionic mobility and the corona-onset voltage for a given atmosphere is discussed.