| abstract |
An optical article is disclosed capable of modulating the reflection of electromagnetic radiation containing a reflective metal layer having a thickness of less than 0.5 μm, an optical coupler for directing polarized electromagnetic radiation to the reflective metal layer and serving as a support for the device, a first dielectric layer interposed between the reflective metal layer and the support having a thickness in the range of from 0.1 to 10 times the wavelength of the electromagnetic radiation, a second dielectric layer adjacent the reflective metal layer exhibiting a refractive index which differs from that of the first dielectric layer by less than 20 percent and can adjusted by an applied electrical potential gradient, and means for variably applying an electrical potential to a surface of the second dielectric layer remote from the reflective metal layer. The second dielectric layer is a polymeric layer coated on the reflective metal layer exhibiting a second order polarization susceptibility greater than 10 -9 electrostatic units and comprised of polar aligned molecular dipoles having an electron donor moiety linked through a conjugated π bonding system to an electron acceptor moiety. |