STTR Phase I: Robust High-Performance Organic Electro-Optic Materials

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I Project is to enable large-scale integration of photonic and electronic components in computing and communications systems. Optical computing represents the a potential path forward in the expansion of computing power. Hybrid devices utilizing organic electro-optic (OEO) materials are a potential enabling technology for electronic-photonic digital computing (EPDC), with further applications in telecommunications, quantum computing, and quantum networking. Compared to existing silicon photonics and microwave photonics systems, hybrid electro-optics deliver critical performance enhancements, with potential for improved capabilities and lower operating costs for computing and 5G telecommunications systems. The growth of EPDC will also reduce power consumption and carbon footprints of high-performance computing and cloud computing, especially intensive applications such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, where operations are particularly conducive to being performed optically. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project directly addresses key challenges in bringing high-performance hybrid organic electro-optic (OEO) components capable of direct integration with conventional silicon-based semiconductor technologies to market. Hybrid devices utilizing OEO materials have demonstrated significant advantages in speed, size, and power consumption compared to existing technologies. However, rigorous definition of materials properties, optimization of long-term thermal and photostability, and ability to translate new OEO material concepts into commercial materials are essential for establishing market viability. This project includes evaluating stability and encapsulation techniques to ensure long-term reliability and commercial-scale synthesis of a next-generation material for commercial applications, translating recent academic developments from theory aided design into a commercial supply chain. These results will de-risk adoption of hybrid OEO-based technologies and enable a wider range of applications via higher performance and better understanding of thermal constraints and encapsulation requirements. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.