FTIR SENSING OF MOLECULAR ORIENTATION FOR NON-LINEAR OPTIC FILMS

THE APPLICATION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNIQUES TO THE REAL TIME CONTROL OF POLYMER PROCESSING OFFERS POTENTIAL FOR GENERATING MATERIALS WITH IMPROVED ENGINEERING PROPERTIES. FOSTER-MILLER PLANS TO DEVELOP METHODS FOR EXPERT SYSTEM CONTROL OF THE PROCESSING OF LIQUID CRYSTAL POLYMERS. BECAUSE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF MOLECULAR ORIENTATION IN CONTROLLING THE PHYSICAL AND OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THESE MATERIALS IT IS FELT THAT REAL TIME CONTROL OF MOLECULAR ORIENTATION WILL BE NECESSARY IN ORDER TO FULLY EXPLOIT THE POTENTIAL OF THESE MATERIALS IN AIRCRAFT STRUCTURES, NONLINEAR OPTICAL DEVICES, AND ELECTRONICS APPLICATIONS. A FIRST STEP IN GENERATING THIS CONTROL IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF SENSOR DEVICES FOR MOLECULAR ORIENTATION. WE ARE PROPOSING IN THIS SBIR TO EVALUATE THE POTENTIAL OF POLARIZED FTIR FOR DETERMINING THE ORIENTATION IN LIQUID CRYSTALLINE POLYMER FILMS. THIS WILL LEAD TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW INSTRUMENTATION FOR DETERMINING AND CONTROLLING MOLECULAR ORDER IN REAL TIME FOR IMPROVED PROCESSING.