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Abstract:
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Light in its physical and philosophical sense has captured the imagination of human
mind right from the dawn of civilization. The invention of lasers in the 60’s caused
a renaissance in the field of optics. This intense, monochromatic, highly directional
radiation created new frontiers in science and technology. The strong oscillating electric
field of laser radiation creates a. polarisation response that is nonlinear in character in
the medium through which it passes and the medium acts as a new source of optical
field with alternate properties. It was in this context, that the field of optoelectronics
which encompasses the generation, modulation, transmission etc. of optical radiation
has gained tremendous importance. Organic molecules and polymeric systems have
emerged as a class of promising materials of optoelectronics because they offer the
flexibility, both at the molecular and bulk levels, to optimize the nonlinearity and
other suitable properties for device applications. Organic nonlinear optical media,
which yield large third-order nonlinearities, have been widely studied to develop optical
devices like high speed switches, optical limiters etc.
Transparent polymeric materials have found one of their most promising applicationsin
lasers, in which they can be used as active elements with suitable laser dyes
doped in it. The solid-matrix dye lasers make possible combination of the advantages
of solid state lasers with the possibility of tuning the radiation over a broad spectral
range. The polymeric matrices impregnated with organic dyes have not yet widely
used because of the low resistance of the polymeric matrices to laser damage, their low
dye photostability, and low dye stability over longer time of operation and storage.
In this thesis we investigate the nonlinear and radiative properties of certain organic
materials and doped polymeric matrix and their possible role in device development |