A new type of glass material for use in future opto-electronic devices has been fabricated at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. Some potential payoffs from this work include next-generation optical sensors and miniaturized optical systems, high-speed opto-electronic components for high-bandwidth communication, low-noise high-gain optical amplifiers, thresholdless/low-threshold lasers, identifications systems based on engineered optical properties, and efficient directional antennas for radio-frequency microwave devices.
According to Dr. Armand Rosenberg of NRL's Optical Sciences Division, structures that exhibit photonic bandgap optical effects are composed of alternating layers or rows of dissimilar materials. The specific optical properties of these materials are highly dependent on the symmetry, structure and composition of the layered materials. A major application area is controlling the propagation of light in opto-electronic devices, similar to how the flow of electronics is controlled in semiconductor devices. The fabrication process involves heating and drawing glass rods into long filaments, which are then stacked and redrawn, reducing their diameter even more. Ultimately, the glass winds up in the form of polished wafers that can be drilled with tiny holes to hold another dielectric or semiconductor material. The result is a fundamental building block of what is, in effect, the optical analog of electronic integrated circuitry.