Please click on the triangular icon to see the PDF file. Search for keywords in an article, title, or author line with the Article Finder . The hyperlinks in the table compile a list of all articles containing these keywords from the Basic Keyword List . The cover picture shows a traditional infomation-storage device along with a more contempory product, a book and CD, respectively. The illustrated molecule, an organic photorefractor, may revolutionize information storage.
Photorefractive materials are capable of storing infomation holographically.
Further details are given in the review by Zilker on pages 72-87. Useful applications in holographic systems were soon recognized and photorefractivity was subsequently demonstrated in many different materials. These materials span from inorganic crystals to semiconductors, from organic liquid crystals to polymers. Nevertheless, nearly 25 years passed from the discovery of inorganic photorefractive materials in 1966 to reports of the first organic systems. This article reviews the rapid progress of organic photorefractive materials in the last decade and focuses on the different chemical concepts and pathways for further optimization.