NSF Award
9361272
9361272 Lian Real Time thin film holographic elements are crucial components in a number of optical data processing technologies. There is a need for development of materials to record both permanent and re configurable holograms. Recently, polymeric photo refractive materials have evoked a lot of interest as inexpensive holographic media. We propose to develop a new class of polymeric photo refractive materials which are expected to surpass the polymeric photo refractive materials so far reported both in speed and sensitivity. The polymeric materials proposed in this work are conjugated polymers which have characteristics of a semiconductor. These polymers are functionalized with second order nonlinear optical chromophores and cross linking groups to provide stable second order nonlinerity after poling and cross linking. Charge transport and dielectric constant can be tailored by appropriate choice of dopants. The photo refractive polymer synthesized will be purified and processed into thin films. These materials will be characterized for their linear and nonlinear optical properties and photo conductivity. Diffraction efficiency measurements will be performed to evaluate these materials as a dynamic holographic medium.
