Photochromic materials + Silicon?

[Tsunami]

I was wondering whether it is possible to use photochromatic switching effects, for photonic structures on silicon.

The problem might be that silicon is not transparent for the same wavelengths as photochromic materials. So basically, I was wondering if somebody knew about applications where photochromic materials are used together with silicon, and if there are certain adjustments to circumvene the spectrum problem. A search in the literature has given me nothing so far.

 

[dlgoff]

I would think most photochromic materials would be too slow to respond to a light input to make them useful in photonic applications. As to silicon; it is transparent at wavelengths grater than 1.1 um which would make it ideal for many photonic applications.

Regards

 

[ravenprp]

It is certainly possible to combine photochromic materials with silicon in photonic structures. In fact, there have been studies and developments in this area for potential applications in sensors, displays, and other optoelectronic devices. One challenge is indeed the transparency of silicon for certain wavelengths, but this can be overcome by using thin film layers of photochromic materials on top of silicon, or by incorporating the photochromic materials into the silicon structure itself. There are also techniques such as selective doping or surface modification that can be used to adjust the spectral properties of silicon to better match those of the photochromic materials. While there may not be a lot of published literature on this specific combination, there are ongoing research efforts and potential applications for photochromic materials and silicon together.