Molecular organic photonics

The work presented in this thesis is derived from experimentation in the field of molecular organic photonics. This is done from the standpoint that devices cannot be understood without recourse to the molecular properties and vice versa. A background of nonlinear optics and a brief introduction to the origins of molecular organic nonlinearity is given to aid understanding of the main points of the argument. The dipole moment of several organics was calculated using a simple capacitance method which has been successfully applied to reactive species. These dipole moment results were necessary in the extraction of βʷ from the µβʷ extracted from the EFISH technique. This experiment was performed at 1.064µm and 1.907µm with the latter wavelength being applied to the first in a new class of organic molecules. Results of the work on a number of techniques relevant to thin film devices are also presented. This culminated in an amplitude modulator case study that brought all the techniques together. Finally a discussion on the links between molecular and device related properties justifies the approach taken.