Term: non-linear optical polymer https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.NT07178 Definition: Polymer that exhibits an optical effect brought about by electromagnetic radiation such that the magnitude of the effect is not proportional to the irradiance. Notes: 0) An example of non-linear optical effects is the generation of higher harmonics of the incident light wave. 1) A polymer that exhibits a @N04197@ due to anisotropic electric susceptibilities when subjected to electric field together with light @I03255@ is called an electro-optical polymer. A polymer that exhibits electro-optical behavior combined with @P04591@ is called a photo-refractive polymer. Related Terms: 1) non-linear optical effect (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.N04197). 2) irradiation (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.I03255). 3) photoconductivity (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.P04591). Source: PAC, 2004, 76, 889. 'Definitions of terms relating to reactions of polymers and to functional polymeric materials (IUPAC Recommendations 2003)' on page 900 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac200476040889) Citation: 'non-linear optical polymer' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.NT07178 License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms. Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.