SBIR Phase I: Novel Nonlinear Optical Films For Ultrafast Photonics

这项小型企业创新研究计划旨在开发一种新技术，用于制造适用于光子学的有机非线性光学(NLO)复合薄膜。光调制、开关、频率转换和其他光信号处理可以实现前所未有的性能：更小的器件尺寸、更低的驱动电压等等。这项突破性技术在光通信和信息处理领域具有巨大的商业潜力。拟议的薄膜技术利用了有机NLO晶体，这是已知的具有最高NLO性能的晶体。这项技术利用了NLO客体分子在一系列自排序液晶基质中的排列。如有必要，可使用场极化来消除中心对称性。先进的处理工艺进一步提高了薄膜的非线性光学性能。由于共格相互作用，这些薄膜的非线性光学性质可以接近大块有机晶体。此外，由于主体的自然有序，提高了非线性光学性质的时间和热稳定性。提出的NLO材料技术还可以用于制造低成本、超高性能的光子学，如调制器、开关、移相器、光束控制设备，这些设备立即具有商业用途。例如，这些设备是实现宽带、高速、全光通信的使能部件，拥有数十亿美元的市场

This Small Business Innovation Research program is to develop a novel technology for fabricating organic nonlinear optical (NLO) composite films that are ideal for photonics. The unprecedented performance for light modulation, switching, frequency conversion and other optical signal processing can be achieved: smaller device sizes, lower driving voltages, to name a few. This breakthrough technology has immense commercial potential in sectors of optical communications and information processing. The proposed film technology takes advantage of organic NLO crystals, which are known to have the highest NLO properties. The technology utilizes the alignment of NLO guest molecules in a host of self-ordered liquid crystal matrix. Field poling is used, if necessary, to remove the centro-symmetry. Advanced processing further enhances NLO properties of the films. Due to coherent interactions, the NLO properties of these films can approach those of bulk organic crystals. Moreover, temporal and thermal stability of the NLO properties is enhanced due to naturally ordered host. The proposed NLO material technology can also used to fabricate low-cost, ultrahigh-performance photonics, such as modulators, switches, phase shifters, beam steering devices that have immediate commercial use. For example, these devices are the enabling components to realize broadband, high-speed, all-optical communication, which has a multi-billion market