| abstract |
A surface of a thin film superconductor element is coated with a layer containing pre-selected dye, or multiple dyes, alone or in combination with intermediate reflective coatings (best mode), which, when maintained near Tc, upon exposure to a selected frequency of light acts as a narrow bandwidth absorber to change the resistive property of the underlying superconductor following energy transfer from the dye to the superconductor. The resistance change is electronically detectable to function as a wavelength selective high speed optoelectronic switch or sensor element. A plurality of elements can be arrayed with each element junction being sensitized by overcoating with a different dye layer, either alone or in combination with an underlying reflective coating, so that upon exposure to a broad spectrum or polychromic light source, the individual junctions will independently be switched or not depending on the wavelength to which the superconductor junction is tuned by the pre-selected dye, thereby permitting multiplexed photo-optical message transmission and detection. For example, a single optical fiber may carry several signals simultaneously, each of which is encoded in a different color ( lambda ) and transmitted as a polychromic beam. The array distinguishes between signals as each detector is tuned to a selected encoded light color. |