The design of second-order nonlinear optical dendrimers: From 'branch only' to 'root containing'.

Dendrimers are considered as a promising family of organic second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) polymers because of their well-defined structures, easily modified peripheral functional groups, interior branches and central cores. In order to obtain NLO materials with high performance, dendrimer structures have been optimized in the past years, such as the 'branch only' and the 'root containing' type dendrimers. This feature article highlights the achievements in exploring the rational design of dendrimers, partially marked by their macroscopic NLO performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]