Fabrication of Polymeric Photonic Crystals for Photonics Applications.

Hybrid Technologies proposes in this Phase I feasibility program to develop a versatile method of fabricating high refractive index contrast photonic crystal structures. In our approach we will utilize a modified holographic interference method to produce the desired symmetry in a polymeric material. An organic-inorganic hybrid resin will be developed for this purpose comprising a photosensitive polymer and inorganic high index nanoparticles. The strength of this approach is that (i) various symmetries can be achieved through appropriate holographic interference (ii) the use of nanocomposites containing high refractive index nanoparticles lends to produce high index contrast and (iii) the polymer is amenable to functionalization to bring the desired linear and nonlinear optical properties. When the method and material(s) are fully developed, the proposed technology will provide a low-cost means to manufacturing optoelectronic devices for optical communication, information processing and other applications.