Riddled with pores only nanometers in diameter, the now-adjustable film may prove valuable as a sensor, filter, or
optical material. With further development, it may even have the long-sought ability to extract oxygen or nitrogen directly from air, the scientists say.
The MHT crystal is active in the UV-Vis region and the compound material could be a viable alternative for
optical material in the entire visible region.
This month, two groups announced that buckyballs also show great potential as a nonlinear
optical material (see story, p.127).
"It's a good potential nonlinear
optical material," Kafafi concludes.
In the case of a nonlinear
optical material, the bulk property might double or triple the frequency of incoming light.
According to the company the unique LORS
optical material can be deposited onto both PET (poylethylene terephthalate) and OPP (orientated polypropylene) films using optical control technology to a thickness of around 5 microns and at a resolution of up to 1,500 dots/ inch, although different thicknesses are also possible.
Since interacting light beams with different colours pass through a nonlinear
optical material at different speeds, they can become 'out of step' and the desired effect can be lost.
5, 2013), "Polymer Composite Material,
Optical Material including the Same, and Thermoplastic Aromatic Polymer," Yusuke Imai and Atsushi Terahara (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science Technology, Tokyo, Japan).