Inorganic-organic hybrid polymers for information technology:: from planar technology to 3D nanostructures

Sol-gel synthesis allows inorganic-organic hybrid polymer materials (ORMOCER(R)s) to be produced, which can be functionalized to tailor their physical and chemical properties such as refractive index or optical loss. A particular material system is discussed here, which is synthesized without addition of water and is applied in optical communications. As examples for 2D and 2.5D technology, planar waveguides, stacked waveguides, and microlenses are shown. Using two-photon polymerization initiated by femtosecond laser pulses, arbitrary 3D structures can be made in the submicrometer range. In particular, 3D photonic crystal structures are described and discussed.