Photoanisotropic incoherent-to-coherent converter using a bacteriorhodopsin thin film.

We have fabricated a novel optically addressed spatial light modulator by using bacteriorhodopsin immobilized in a polymer thin film. This incoherent-to-coherent converter is based on photoinduced anisotropy, as distinguished from previously reported devices based on photochroism in bacteriorhodopsin. This system is capable of a resolution of 114 lines/mm with a contrast ratio of 100:1.

Dark spatial solitons in bacteriorhodopsin thin films.

We report on the observation of dark spatial solitons in thin solid films containing bacteriorhodopsin. Because of the high nonlinearity of the material, the dark spatial solutions can be easily observed even with a few milliwatts of power from a He-Ne laser. This result promises novel applications for optical switching and optical interconnects.