Abstract
Bacteriorhodopsin is a photosensitive molecule found in the purple membrane of Halobacterium halobium. To investigate the possibility of using photoinduced changes in its refractive index in the 650–800-nm region for photonic switching, we prepared solid dry bacteriorhodopsin films with low scattering and examined their optical properties in a Fabry–Perot cavity. Interference fringes, generated on irradiation of the cavity with a near-IR laser beam at 792 nm, were shifted by simultaneous exposure to a 5-mW/mm2 beam at 543.5 nm. This result indicates that such a Fabry–Perot cavity may be used as a photonically controlled spatial light modulator.
© 1994 Optical Society of America
Full Article | PDF ArticleMore Like This
R. Thoma, N. Hampp, C. Bräuchle, and D. Oesterhelt
Opt. Lett. 16(9) 651-653 (1991)
Hiroyuki Takei and Norio Shimizu
Appl. Opt. 35(11) 1848-1854 (1996)
M. Bertolotti, P. Masciulli, and C. Sibilia
Opt. Lett. 19(11) 777-779 (1994)