Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Yuchuan Chen

Pulickel Madhavapanicker Ajayan

Xi-Cheng Zhang

Toh-Ming Lu

Linda S Schadler Feist

Gwo-Ching Wang

Nachiket R Raravikar

Yiping Zhao

An ultrafast all-optical nonlinear switch. The switch has as components a substrate and a material disposed on the substrate. In one embodiment, the material includes a plurality of single-walled carbon nanotubes and a polymer forming a composite. Preferably, the polymer is polyimide. In another embodiment, the material includes a plurality of single-walled carbon nanotubes incorporated into a silica. The nanotube loading in the material is less than about 0.1 wt %. The material is a substantially transparent, third-order nonlinear optical material. The switch has a switching speed of less than 1 picosecond for light with a wavelength of about 1.55 micrometers. Also disclosed is a process for preparing the ultrafast all-optical nonlinear switch.

Ultrafast all-optical switch using carbon nanotube polymer composites

Growing community of inventors

Troy, NY, United States of America

Yuchuan Chen