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Light-Emitting Nanocomposites And Novel Amorphous Polymers For Optical Applications, Kyle Gipson

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Polymeric optical materials generally are comprised of amorphous polymers that are transparent in at visible wavelengths but exhibit strong absorption bands in the near-infrared making them less useful for many optical applications. Attenuation, which is the absorption per unit length, largely results from the high vibrational energy associated with carbon-hydrogen bonds contained in the polymer backbone. Attenuation can be mitigated by optical amplification utilizing light emitting additives. Investigated in this dissertation are synthesis techniques for the fabrication of light-emitting polymer nanocomposites and their resultant thermal and rheological characteristics for potential use as polymer optical fibers or films.
Inorganic nanocrystals doped …