Importance of chromophore environment on the near-infrared absorption of polymeric waveguides

The near-infrared absorption of two chromophore functionalized polymers and combinations of seventeen different guest chromophores in seven different organic polymer matrices were investigated to assess the effect of chromophore structure and environment on absorption. The near-infrared absorption losses were found to be dramatically larger by as much as 2-3 orders of magnitude in polymer matrices than in solution. Furthermore, the absorption of the long-wavelength tail appears to be related to the glass transition temperature of the polymer matrix that contains the chromophore. These results are interpreted in terms of inhomogeneous broadening. (C) 2000 Optical Society of America