Corona poling and electroactivity in a side-chain methacrylate copolymer

The corona poling process and the decay in electro-optic activity were investigated for side-chain methacrylate (MA) copolymers functionalized with different weight percentages of chromophore disperse red-13. In order to obtain the maximum electro-optic activity, the efficiency of the corona poling process was investigated. The poling time, temperature and grid voltage of the corona triode were varied. Also, it was found that the electro-optic decay depends on chromophore content, temperature and the cooling rate of samples at the end of the poling process. Experimental data were fitted using the Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts (KWW) stretched exponential function and parameters depending on temperature and thermal treatment, and their relationship with the poling process is briefly discussed.