Direct comparison of mechanical and electro-optic responses of a low T _g photorefractive doped polymer

The temperature dependence of the electro-optic responses in a low glass transition temperature (T _g) photorefractive polymer was investigated using an ellipsometric technique. The sample was composed of a carbazole functionalized polysiloxane doped with a push-pull chalcone derivative. The results provide information on the orientational dynamics of the chromophores doping the polymer host. For this purpose, the electro-optic response is directly compared, for different temperatures above T _g, to dynamic shear compliance measurements characterizing the mechanical macroscopic behavior of the material. We demonstrate here that these orientational processes are entirely ruled by the mechanical properties of the material.