Side chain liquid crystalline polymers exhibiting nonlinear optical response

A process for producing a nonlinear optical medium which comprises heating a thermotropic side chain liquid crystalline polymer to form a polymer mesophase, subjecting the polymer mesophase to an external field to induce an orientation of aligned pendant mesogens, and cooling the polymer mesophase of aligned mesogens below the glass transition temperature (T.sub.g) while maintaining the external field effect to freeze the mesogen alignment in the solid polymer, wherein the mesogens exhibit a nonlinear optical repsonse, and wherein the polymer is characteirzed by a recurring monomeric unit corresponding to the formula:

• ##STR24## where m.sup.1 is an integer of at least 5;
• n.sup.1 is an integer between about 4-20;
• x.sup.2 is --NR.sup.1 --, --O-- or --S--;
• and
• R.sup.1 is hydrogen or methyl.