Organic-inorganic optical materials.

We describe the use of an intriguing class of materials, termed polycerams, for applications in integrated optics. Polycerams are ceramic-polymer hybrid materials that are synthesized by wet-chemical methods. As films they can be deposited in single-step operations with thicknesses from <100 nm to >5 microm, and their refractive indices and Abbe numbers can be varied over a wide range. Polycerams synthesized as planar waveguides exhibit optical attenuations as low as <0.15 dB/cm, and they can be patterned by embossing. These materials exhibit exceptional optical properties that are due to combination of organic and inorganic constituents at the molecular level.

Optical loss study of MPEOU-based polyceram planar waveguides.

Sol-gel-derived polyceram materials based on organically modified silicon and titanium alkoxides have been synthesized in planar waveguide forms. They exhibit optical losses as low as <0.25 dB/cm and refractive indices as high as 1.685, coupled with exceptional ease of processing. The optical properties of the films (index of refraction, loss, and dispersion) are studied as functions of processing and composition, and the influence of chemistry on volume homogeneities and surface roughness of the films is investigated.