High Speed Electro-Optic Shutters for Eye Protection from Lasers

This proposal addresses the fabrication of novel complex oxide film based laser protective shutters. Current electro-optic (E-O) materials and devices do not provide fast enough response time for military use, especially for personnel protection from Q-switched lasers. Our goal is to develop advanced oxide materials for the fabrication of fast E-O device which will fulfill critical military requirements. Advanced complex oxides are particularly suitable for E-O devices due to their large E-O coefficients, fast response times, broad specttum bandwidths, wide range of operating temperatures and physical ruggedness. In this Phase I program, we will demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach by fabricating a prototype device via an innovative metalorganic chemical liquid deposition (MOCLD) process. The electric response time of the device will be minimized by our innovative device structure. Due to the anticipated rapid growth in the optical communication market, the technology development will also find many applications in the private sector. BENEFITS: Laser protective devices have enormous commercial applications for safety and health equipment due to the proliferation of lasers in laboratories, academia, industry and medicine. Besides laser protection, the proposed low cost, high performance E-O materials and devices will open a potentially large market for laser printers, fiber optic switches and optical interconnections. Success in the Phase I effort will lead to the commercial fabrication of a new generation of light modulation systems.