Electronic and Opto-electronic Properties of Polydiacetylenes

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Abstract
Polydiacetylenes are conjugated polymers which can be obtained as macroscopic single crystals of high perfection. With these samples a detailed picture of the electronic states of the extended polymer chains has been built up. The conjugated chains have a large third-order hyperpolarisibility and, hence, potential for application in non-linear optical devices. A brief review of these properties of polydiacetylenes is presented. Recent studies of the non-linear optical properties of mixed crystals by electric field induced second harmonic (EFISH) generation are described. SHG signals observed after removal of the applied field are used to follow the decay of trapped charge. These results are compared with direct measurements of photocurrent decay in polydiacetylenes.