Polyelectrolyte glasses with linear and nonlinear optical properties

Communication: Polyelectrolyte glasses, composed of cationic polymers and anionic dyes have several advantages over traditionally prepared intrinsicly dyed optical glasses for linear‐(LO) and nonlinear optical (NLO) applications. Very high dye concentrations canb e achieved, homogeneous distribution of the dye results in high‐quality glasses, a large variety of LO‐ and NLO‐active counterieons are available, and the glasses are easily processed. The preparation and testing of the new materials is described.