A three steps procedure (swelling-poling-deswelling) to produce a stable alignment of second order NLO-phores covalently attached to a cross-linked polymeric network

An original and convenient three steps (swelling-poling-deswelling) process of poling a cross-linked polymer/NLO-phore composite to produce a stable second harmonic generation is described, using as a model system a cross-linked poly-amido amine network carrying covalently attached a modified Disperse Red One, a well known NLO-phore. This procedure is expected to be of wide applicability to produce composite polymeric materials with a rather stable second harmonic generation and of particular interest for NLO-phores sensitive to temperature.