Grant: Idea to Innovation

Highly birefringent optical materials have different refractive indices along different axes. As a result, a ray of light entering the material is decomposed into two new rays. Most materials have birefringence values under 0.03; very few solids have values over 0.2. Current commercial birefringent materials are inorganic minerals such as calcite, with a value of 0.17. These are key materials in many optical components, used in light refocusing, in optical data transmission and in microscopy. For example, CD/DVD readers, image processing instrumentation, intraocular elements, and many other everyday devices incorporate birefringent materials. This joint I2I Phase 1 project will enable the pre-commercialization development of a new class of highly birefringent solids recently reported by the Leznoff group - coordination polymer crystals - which exhibit some of the largest birefringence values on record (>0.4). In addition to these remarkably high values (double that of commercially used materials), which should allow for the miniaturization of components in optical devices, other advantages of this new technology include very straightforward synthesis, easy structural modification to introduce different properties and potentially simple processing into different commercially useful forms. Discussions with interested industry partners have identified some critical pre-commercialization questions, which this I2I grant will address. Specifically: (1) a series of synthetic modifications to the polymer materials will be undertaken in order to pinpoint the factors that control the birefringence values and then optimize them; (2) Toxic lead metal components will be engineered out of the material; (3) Actual refractive indices will be measured; (4) Thin-films will be prepared. A proof-of-concept optical component (polarizer) with our material will also be constructed. The results of the synergistic analytical measurements and synthetic experiments will enable discussions with companies in the optical components and telecommunications sectors interested in commercializing the technology. Canada has a world-class industry in these sectors that could benefit immensely from incorporation of this home-grown technology.