Growth perfection and properties of organic non-linear materials

Microminiaturization of optical circuitry requires electro-optic materials of far greater efficiency than even the best currently available. The skill of the synthetic chemist can be used to create molecules of virtually any structure. Given sufficient knowledge to allow a detailed specification to be described, these synthetic capabilities allow organic crystalline materials to be `engineered' for optimum performance in a given context. The basic information allowing such crystal properties to be specified is currently extremely sparse. Nevertheless, already some fundamental principles of such `engineering' can be described. New materials, with performances approaching those required, are listed and their growth as large single crystals is outlined. The availability of such large low-defect-concentration crystals is a prerequisite for accurate characterization, so that, for the first time, this is now possible. The way is open for the creation of a source of reliable data from which the theory governing the performance of these materials can be fully developed.