Hyper-Rayleigh scattering studies of first order hyperpolarizability of tricyanovinylthiophene derivatives in solution

First order hyperpolarizabilities, β, for donor-acceptor substituted heteroaromatic compounds are measured by the hyper-Rayleigh scattering technique. Hyper-Rayleigh scattering utilizes the mechanism of number density fluctuations and enables the second harmonic generation signal of nonlinear optical chromophores to be generated as scattered light. Effects of substituting different electron donating groups to the parent heteroaromatic compounds and different solvents on the hyperpolarizability is investigated using this technique. © 1995 American Institute of Physics.