Noble metal colloid containing glass-like sol-gel coatings are suitable materials for all optical switches due of the high third order nonlinearity. Owing to the intensity dependent refractive index, a laser induced diffraction grating divides two input beams into four output beams. The typical response times of the materials are < 10^-9 s (nanoseconds)

http://www.inm-gmbh.de

Contact:
Dr. M. Mennig,
Physics and chemistry of glasses
Tel.: ++49-681-9300-394
Fax: ++49-681-9300-223

• Development of materials for fast optical switches. Used in integrated optics and communication technologies providing simplified process technologies

Methods

• Coating of glass substrates with metal colloid containing sols by spin- or dip coating
• Thermal treatment or UV-curing of the coating for densification of the coating and metal colloid formation

• Glass-like non abrasive coating with good chemical resistance
• Selection of the absorbing wavelength range by the choice of the metal-ions
• Material resists the typical temperature range for integrated optics

Applications

• Fast optical switches in the visible spectral range with switching times < 10^-9 s (nanoseconds)
• Integrated optics, laser technology