Polymeric materials have special advantages over other materials used for the recording, storage and retrieval of information, telecommunication transmission and visualization of images. The authors describe the synthesis, the physico-chemical behavior and the applications of these highly sensitive macromolecular systems. They discuss the most essential developments in this field.
For scientists and professionals working in the field of electrooptical and photooptical polymeric materials.

1 Photochemical Hole Burning and Photooptical Properties of Doped Dye Molecules in Linear Polymers.- 1.1 Introduction.- 1.2 Photochemical Hole Burning of Dye/Polymer Systems.- 1.3 Photon Echo of Dye/Polymer Systems.- 1.4 Photoinduced Refractive Index Change and Birefringence of Dye/Polymer Systems.- 1.5 References.- 2 Comb-Shaped Polymers with Mesogenic Side Groups as Electro- and Photooptical Active Media.- 2.1 Introduction.- 2.2 Specific Features of the Molecular Structure of Functionalized Comb-Shaped Liquid-Crystalline Polymers.- 2.3 Comb-Shaped Dye-Containing Polymers with Mesogenic Side Groups.- 2.4 Electrooptical Behavior of Liquid-Crystalline Compounds.- 2.5 Thermooptical Recording of Information on Films of Comb-Shaped Liquid-Crystalline Polymers.- 2.6 Photooptical Effects in Comb-Shaped Polymers.- 2.7 Summary and Outlook.- 2.8 References.- 3 Cyclic Liquid-Crystalline Siloxanes as Optical Recording Materials.- 3.1 Introduction.- 3.2 Cyclic Liquid-Crystalline Siloxanes.- 3.3 Optical Recording with Cyclic Liquid-Crystalline Siloxanes.- 3.4 References.- 4 Photoregulation of Liquid Crystal Alignment by Photochromic Molecules and Polymeric Thin Films.- 4.1 Introduction.- 4.2 Alignment Regulation by Surface-Modified Silica.- 4.3 Alignment Regulation by Polymer Thin Films.- 4.4 Surface-Assisted Azimuthal Alignment Regulation.- 4.5 Future Aspects.- 4.6 References.- 5 Electric Field Poling of Nonlinear Optical Side Chain Polymers.- 5.1 Introduction: Context and Scope.- 5.2 The Electrooptical Effect in Optically Nonlinear Materials.- 5.3 Theoretical Models for the Calculation of Order Parameters..- 5.4 Measurements of the Electrooptical Effect in Polymer Samples.- 5.5 Comparison of Experimental Results with Theory.- 5.6 Summary.- 5.7 References.