This three-year award supports U.S.-France cooperative research in materials science between Randolph S. Duran of the University of Florida and J. Le Moigne of the Institute of Physics and Chemistry of Materials in Strasbourg, France. The objective of the research is to develop thin films of new, conjugated polyenic polymers with enhanced non-linear optical (NLO) properties. While materials with NLO properties have been known since the sixties and applied in integrated optics and photonics, there is a need to study the structure-property correlation of these materials in order to optimize their design. The French group will synthesize a series of polymers having high planar content, thus allowing for high NLO properties. Subsequently, the Florida group will prepare thin films with controlled molecular conformation and ordering from the synthesized polymers. The structure of the resulting thin films will be characterized by both groups. The proposal takes advantage of the expertise of an outstanding French polymer research group in synthesis and characterization techniques. The collaboration will advance the basic understanding of the NLO properties of polymers and their potential for optoelectric and photonic applications.
