Grants and Contributions:

Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year (2017-2018 to 2020-2021).

The ATONAL project aims at developing micro- and nano-structured functional systems that can be opticallyx000D
tuned, by exploiting the photoswitching properties of materials containing photochromic molecules such asx000D
azobenzene derivatives. In recent years, new approaches have emerged, in the field of information andx000D
communication technologies, based on the development of micro- and nano-structured devices (for integratedx000D
optics, efficient light sources...) or on the use of innovative media and materials (flexible electronics, organicx000D
optoelectronic...).x000D
These approaches have been made possible by the technological developments that now allow matterx000D
processing down to ultimate scales and integration of different materials in a same architecture. In this context,x000D
the main objective of the ATONAL project is to investigate the potentiality of hybrid structures incorporatingx000D
photochromic materials for the elaboration of optically tunable devices in biomedical applications.x000D
Materials incorporating azobenzene derivatives exhibit quite unique photomechanical responses in addition tox000D
their photochromic properties. These deformations are directed by the light polarization and may manifest atx000D
different scales. Coupling these compounds with other functional materials may then be envisaged as a routex000D
for developing structures and devices that can be actuated, tuned or reconfigured by means of optical stimuli.x000D
As a proof of concept, we will first develop simple processes to couple photoactive hybrid material layers withx000D
usual integrated optical devices (for telecommunication application), fabricated with standard siliconx000D
technologies. We will consider devices such as ring resonators, couplers, filters and gratings, the operation ofx000D
which critically depends on their structure. We will then characterize the control of their functioning conferredx000D
by the photoactive material. Finally, in collaboration with the companies supporting the project, we willx000D
explore the possibility to implement this approach into real-world devices.x000D