Synthesis and Characterization of Highly Efficient, Chemically and Thermally Stable Chromophores with Chromone-Containing Electron Acceptors for NLO Applications

Donor–acceptor substituted nonlinear optical (NLO) chromophores possessing large molecular hyperpolarizabilities and chemical and thermal stabilities are of interest because of their potential applications in high-speed electro-optic devices. Here, a series of chromophores is presented with a diethylamino group as donor and a variety of strong electron withdrawing groups on the chromone moiety. Incorporation of these chromophores into a polyimide gives a material with high E-O coefficients, low optical loss, and good thermal stability.