This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 7118, including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents, Introduction (if any), and the Conference Committee listing.

A short technology Overview of recently reported research and development focusing on recent advances in polymer/organic and hybrid-nanotechnology based materials that offer resistance to ionizing and displacement radiations and perhaps which are suitable for transition to next-generation systems is presented. The Overview will focus on new and emerging material technology for the military, first responders, and space systems. Recent material research results and data as well as the potential for diverse applications of these materials to new component developments such as high speed EO polymer modulators and radiation shielding for protection of military and space assets will be discussed. In particular, the ability of several organic/polymer hybrids to self-heal when irradiated by gamma-rays is discussed.

Theoretically-inspired design of new organic electro-optic materials has resulted in dramatic improvement in electrooptic activity at telecommunication wavelengths to values of approximately 600 pm/V. In particular, a new class of materials, binary chromophore organic glasses, has been introduced, which afford attractive linear and nonlinear optical properties. The intermolecular electrostatic interactions among guest and host chromophores in these new materials augment the induction of noncentrosymmetric order by an electric poling field or by laser-assisted electric field poling. Another important advance in the utilization of organic electro-optic materials has been the incorporation of these materials into 25-150 nm slots in silicon photonic waveguides. The concentration of optical and electrical fields in these nanoscopic device structures dramatically reduces drive voltage requirements.

Nonlinear index of refraction n2 of a series of organic solvents was measured by the nonlinear imaging (z-scan) technique. The results were compared with the values derived from the optical third harmonic generation (THG) done at the same (1064.2 nm) wavelength. The systematic differences between the values obtained from the z-scan measurements and from THG are attributed to mainly two factors: rotational contribution to n2 in z-scan measurements, where one measures the light induced birefringence and to the difference in dispersion for n2 derived from Kerr susceptibilities with respect to those derived from THG measurements. The difference is discussed in terms of a three level model for centrosymmetric structures. Applied to silica and benzene the model shows, at the measurements wavelength, a small difference between the two determinations in the case of silica and quite an important one in the case of benzene. A good agreement is observed for silica with the recently determined THG value.

Organic light emitting transistors (OLET) have been recently demonstrated as innovative architectures combining into an integrated optoelectronic device multi-functional properties namely, the driving ability of a transistor device with the conversion of electrical current into efficient light emission via electronic relaxation of organic semiconductors. State of the art materials, achievement and performances will be presented and discussed in view of possible OLET architectures exploitation as electrically pumped organic nanolasers.

Holographic recording using a multi-functional photopolymer was explored for securities and anticounterfeit. The preparation of photofunctional photopolymer film was based on monomers and photochromic fluorescent material, which provides information recording and security of the information, respectively. The content of the monomer and photochromophore for such photopolymer film was optimized to give high diffraction efficiency and high photochromic contrast. A highly secure recording and reading method was suggested for the recorded information, based on diffraction, color and fluorescence change.

The aim of developing bio-inspired sensing systems is to try and emulate the amazing sensitivity and specificity observed in the natural world. These capabilities have evolved, often for specific tasks, which provide the organism with an advantage in its fight to survive and prosper. Capabilities cover a wide range of sensing functions including vision, temperature, hearing, touch, taste and smell. For some functions, the capabilities of natural systems are still greater than that achieved by traditional engineering solutions; a good example being a dog's sense of smell. Furthermore, attempting to emulate aspects of biological optics, processing and guidance may lead to more simple and effective devices. A bio-inspired sensing system is much more than the sensory mechanism. A system will need to collect samples, especially if pathogens or chemicals are of interest. Other functions could include the provision of power, surfaces and receptors, structure, locomotion and control. In fact it is possible to conceive of a complete bio-inspired system concept which is likely to be radically different from more conventional approaches. This concept will be described and individual component technologies considered.

The salmon sperm DNA is not soluble in any of the organic solvent. Therefore, we modified the structure of natural DNA and changed its solubility. The organic soluble DNA-CTMA was obtained by precipitating the DNA in water with a cationic surfactant such as a lipid of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTMA). The resulting DNA-lipid complex shows good solubility in alcohol and allows us to fabricate thin films for studying their optical and photophysical properties in a solid state. The absorption and photoluminescence (PL) behaviors of DNA-CTMA and CTMA-polyacrylic acid (PA) doped with (E)-2-(2-(4-(diethylamino)styryl)-4H-pyran-4-ylidene)malononitrile (DCM) were studied. We observed the different absorption and PL spectral behaviors with the contents of DCM in two different host materials. This was explained by a proper mechanism based on intercalation or groove binding of fluorescent dye into the base pairs of DNA-CTMA.

Organic field effect transistors (O-FETs) are of considerable interest for the development of flexible displays and a variety of other macro-electronic applications. We investigated a DNA-based biopolymer material as a gate dielectric for fabricating O-FET backplanes using the organic semiconductor material Pentacene having small geometry devices and improved performance characteristics required for high resolution displays. The results to date continue to show the potential of this approach for low-cost O-FET backplanes for the next generation flexible displays and other macro-electronic applications.

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-based biopolymers posses unique electronic and self assembly properties that render them suitable organic semiconductors for organic field effect transistors. Doping DNA molecules with conductive guests has resulted in a significant decrease of the overall resistivity of the blend with effective free charge carrier mobilities comparable to other conductive polymers such as pentacene and poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). In this paper we discuss doping DNA with single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and transistor behavior.