Novel Hybrid Photonic Materials for Optically Addressed Light Modulators (Subtopic A)

"Novel bio-organic/inorganic hybrid materials for use in optically addressed light modulators is proposed. Supramolecular chemistry will be used to prepare previously unknown materials for light modulation. If successful, the proposed research willimprove the speed, pixel count, resolution and contrast of spatial light modulators while simultaneously reducing their size, weight and cost. Phase I research includes materials synthesis and optical tests to define the capabilities of the proposedmaterials and compare these with those of existing materials. The proposed new materials will have applications in optical computing, holographic storage media, machine vision, optical pattern recognitition and multi-layer optical disk storage."