title: Very large electro-optic responses in H-bonded heteroaromatic films grown by physical vapour deposition.
abstract: A crucial goal for modern telecommunications systems is development of very high-speed components for broadband (>100 GHz), all-optical signal/information processing. The core component of such technologies is the electro-optic modulator, which encodes electrical signals onto fibre-optic transmissions. A significant challenge therefore is obtaining materials that have large electro-optic responses and that can be readily fabricated into devices at low cost. We report here on the realization of high-response heteroaromatic organic chromophores that can be straightforwardly self-organized from the vapour phase into intrinsically acentric, high-quality, micrometre-scale films. These pi-conjugated electro-optically active films (with second-order susceptibilities up to approximately 100 pm V(-1)) are thermally stable and conveniently grown by a simple physical vapour deposition process in a few hours. Supramolecular acentricity is achieved without electric field poling, enforced by biomimetic heterocycle-hydroxycarbonyl head-to-tail hydrogen-bonding.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and the Materials Research Center, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 60208-3113, USA.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Facchetti
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Annoni
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Beverina
authors.forename: Marika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morone
authors.forename: Peiwang
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Tobin J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Marks
authors.forename: Giorgio A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Pagani
mesh_terms: D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D004563:Electrochemistry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D004581:Electronics / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D006841:Hydrocarbons, Aromatic / Q000737:chemistry*; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D008420:Manufactured Materials; D008422:Materials Testing; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000737:chemistry; D010777:Photochemistry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D014835:Volatilization
chemical_list: D006841:Hydrocarbons, Aromatic; D009930:Organic Chemicals