| abstract |
Nonlinearly optically active monomer species comprising at least two carbon-carbon activated double bonds, i.e., the polymerization of which is facilitated by the presence of an electron attracting function, and a non-centrosymmetric system of pi (π) conjugated bonds bearing at least one electron attracting group on one terminal thereof and at least one electron donor group on the other terminal, are readily (co)polymerized and optionally oriented and crosslinked into shaped articles well adopted for the manufacture of a variety of electrooptical devices; such monomer species can have, for example, the following structural formula (I): ##STR1## |