1.2- Dithiolenes data storage

Finally, in Section IV dithiolene complexes with interesting optical properties, such as strong near-IR (NIR) absorption, nonlinear optical behavior, and the use of some dithiolene complexes for optical data storage will be reviewed. In Section V, attempts toward coupling conducting, and magnetic or optical properties will be discussed briefly. 

Since Chapter 6 (352) in this volume is devoted to the luminescence and photochemistry of dithiolene complexes, these aspects will not be developed here. In this section, we restrict ourselves to the review of dithiolene complex-based compounds exhibiting optical properties, such as strong infrared (IR) absorption and second- and third-order nonlinear optical properties. In the last part of this section, we will review the use of some dithiolene complexes for optical data storage (printers, developer, CD-ROM, etc.). Contrary to what was observed throughout the two previous sections, no particular dithiolene complex really dominates the domain of the molecular materials exhibiting interesting optical properties. 

Dithiolene complexes, and more specifically the nickel derivatives, are involved in materials used for optical data storage, such as compact disc or laser disc read-only memory (CD- or LD-ROM), and also in copiers or photography related devices. In the latter case, it is the IR-absorbing property that is exploited. Some of these compounds can be found in reviews by Mueller-Westerhoff et al. (353, 354). Recent patents are given as examples in references (458—481). In the field of optical storage, short reviews were published in 1988 (482) and 1990 (362, 483). Here, the dithiolene complexes act as inhibitors of the laser-induced fading of the colored thin layers of the optical discs. They also act as an antioxidant and increase the photostability of the cyanine dyes that constitute the recording layer. Contrary to what was observed for the two... 

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