ELECTRIC-FIELD ACTUATED CHROMOGENIC MATERIALS BASED ON MOLECULES WITH A ROTATING MIDDLE SEGMENT FOR APPLICATIONS IN PHOTONIC SWITCHING

摘要

A molecular system (430) is provided for electric field activated switches, such as optical switches (101, 205, 207, 209), constituted of molecules having a rotatable portion (rotor) (432) connected between two stationary portions (stators) (434). The molecular system (430) has an electric field induced band gap change that occurs via a molecular conformation change. Nanometer-scale reversible optical switches (101, 205, 207, 209) are thus provided that can be assembled easily to make a variety of optical devices, including optical displays (100, 200, 300).