Electro-Optic laser Steering Device for High Speed Optical Data Processing

This small business innovation research (SBIR) program will address the design and fabrication of a novel optical beam steering device employing relaxor based ferroelectric single crystals. A new family of nonlinear optical materials, namely,Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 single crystals (PZN-PT) which exhibit electro-optic coefficients that are 4-5 times higher than commercial lithium niobate crystals (LiNbO3), will be grown by high temperature flux technique. Electro-optical beam steering deviceconfiguration for continuous high-speed addressing from 1-to-n data channels will be developed using domain microengineering in PZN-PT crystals. The feasibility of PZN-PT crystals for electro-optic applications will serve as the basis, in phase II, ofother electro-optic devices with new relaxor ferroelectrics such as PMN-PT as well as PZN-PT, and new device concepts using horn-shapes and split-horn shaped scanners.Electro-optic devices using relaxor-based ferroelectric crystals will open up newopportunities for high performance electro-optic devices. A new generation of non-linear optical material and device technology will be demonstrated, that clearly represent considerable improvements in the areas of material and device design forhigh-speed data processing.