Summary
Many DoD-relevant optical and photonic devices rely on tunable optical materials for agile, dynamic functionality. The ideal optical material for these systems would have a large change in refractive index to delay light, while also having low loss and fast switching speeds.
However, our current material databases are limited to a handful of materials, such as liquid crystals, which force unfavorable trades between these material characteristics, severely limiting tunable performance.
The goal of the ATOM program is to derive fundamental insights into the underlying physics of tunable optical materials to develop new materials with broad applicability to optic and photonic applications across the visible and thermal spectral bands.
Specifically, the program aims to move beyond current brute-force computational methods such as density functional theory (DFT) and leverage nascent material discovery methods that have disrupted fields such as pharmaceuticals and energetics but have not yet impacted optical materials.
ATOM will use these tools to identify, synthesize and demonstrate materials as thin films that are then integrated into proof-of-concept devices to enable agile, dynamic capabilities such as free-space optics, integrated photonics, and emissivity control.
ATOM is part of DARPA’s Disruptioneering effort designed to rapidly explore bold, high-risk ideas with the goal of accelerating scientific discovery.