Computer Aided Design for Rapid Development of Novel Optical Materials and Sensors

New photoactivated optical materials and devices are needed for many high-performance applications and are generally very costly and time-consuming to develop. The Air Force, for example, needs new optical materials in order to protect personnel, sensors and satellites from intense laser beams. Many other military and non-military applications, such as light-based medical diagnostics and therapies and the design of new optical devices, also require a detailed understanding of the linear and non-linear interactions of light with materials. Computer-aided design software can greatly reduce the time and money needed for the development process. In order to simplify computer modeling of light-material interactions, the feasibility of developing new simulation algorithms that are based on a modular approach with be investigated. The proposed approach can allow general purpose algorithms to be constructed that can be easily modified to account for changing optical material properties such as additional energy levels or additional excitation or relaxation pathways.