Abstract: An electrochemical transistor device is provided, which comprises a flexible substrate; a layer of organic material, which comprises a source portion, a drain portion and a transistor channel portion; a gate electrode arranged on said substrate separated from said layer of organic material; and a layer of solidified electrolyte arranged in overlapping electric contact with said gate electrode and only with the transistor channel portion of said layer of organic material, thereby defining said transistor channel portion, such that current between said source portion and drain portion is controllable by means of a potential applied to said gate electrode.

Abstract: Optical modulators and switches for use in telecommunications systems are disclosed having solid-state crystalline optical material comprised of III-V, II-VI, and IV semiconductor nanocrystals embedded in a polymer matrix. In a preferred embodiment, the crystalline material comprises CdSe crystals sized at less than 5.8 nm in diameter and more preferably at less than about 4 nm in diameter and advantageously embedded in poly(vinyl pyridine). The crystalline material sandwiched between two electrodes defines an optical modulator. In one preferred embodiment, the crystalline material with ten-percent crystal embedded in a polymer will exhibit with an applied voltage of 100V, a differential absorbance spectra (.DELTA.A) of about 50 cm.sup.-1 at wavelengths of about 610 nm and a differential refractive index (.DELTA.n) of about 10.sup.-4 at wavelengths of about 625 nm.