ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the use of organic and polymeric materials in device applications that involve third-order nonlinear optics, where the ability of light to control light is exploited in the transmission and processing of information. The origin of this nonlinear optical response as well as the general characteristics of χ(3), the parameter that describes the macroscopic third-order nonlinearity, are discussed in this chapter. A number of interesting nonlinear phenomena as well as characterization techniques that utilize them, particularly for the aforementioned applications, are described. Additionally, a simple model is addressed for predicting the nonlinear optical response of a molecule as its chemical structure is varied. The design guidelines suggested by this model provide a good context for the survey of promising organic systems in the literature with large third-order nonlinearities. Finally, the requirements on such nonlinear materials, their integration into devices, and some applications that employ third-order nonlinear optical phenomena will be presented.
