Mechanism of generation of photoelastic birefringence in methacrylate polymers for optical devices |
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| Authors: | Houran Shafiee Akihiro Tagaya Yasuhiro Koike |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, 3‐14‐1 Hiyoshi, Kohoku‐ku, Yokohama 223‐0061, Japan;2. Koike Photonics Polymer Project, ERATO‐SORST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, E‐building, Shin‐Kawasaki Town Campus, 7‐1 Shin‐Kawasaki, Saiwai‐ku, Kawasaki 212‐0032, Japan |
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| Abstract: | We clarified the birefringence properties of poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(ethyl methacrylate), poly(isobutyl methacrylate), poly(cyclohexyl methacrylate), poly(isopropyl methacrylate), and poly(tert‐butyl methacrylate). We demonstrated that the conformational change in polymer molecules that causes orientational birefringence differs from that causing photoelastic birefringence. Orientational birefringence depends mainly on the orientation of the main chains of the methacrylate polymers above Tg. On the other hand, photoelastic birefringence in elastic deformation below Tg depends mainly on the orientation of the side chains while the main chains are scarcely oriented. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 2029–2037, 2010 |
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| Keywords: | conformational analysis infrared spectroscopy methacrylate polymer orientational birefringence photoelastic birefringence polymer chain |
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