Kinetic model of irreversible photobleaching of dye-doped polymer waveguide materials

We consider the irreversible photobleaching of guest-host polymer combinations, those of benzocyclobutene and perfluorocyclobutene doped with 4-(dicyanomethylene)-2-methyl-6-(p-dimethyl aminostyryl)-4H-pyran. The time evolution of the absorption spectrum bleached by the 514-nm line of an Ar+-ion laser can be described by a change in amplitudes of the observed Gaussian-shaped absorption features as a function of the applied photobleaching dose. A phenomenological model that describes this time evolution compares favorably with the experimental data. A discussion of the reasons that so simple a model may be applicable to polymer systems doped with stilbenelike dyes is made. (C) 2004 Optical Society of America.