Electro-optic (E-O) molecular glasses

This Focus Review describes molecular glasses as a new class of materials for nonlinear optical (NLO) applications, especially for electro-optic (E-O) devices. Examples of E-O molecular glasses are reviewed with a focus on the molecular design of NLO chromophores and solid-state engineering of molecular glasses. Molecular glasses based on dendrimers of multiple chromophores, molecular glass blends of chromophores, and molecular glasses based on reversible self-assembly of chromophores are introduced as promising architectures to prepare morphologically stable molecular glasses with large E-O activities and improved material properties for device applications. Future directions to fully exploit the potential of molecular glasses for NLO materials are presented.