Advanced polymer-based optolectronics
Polymers constitute a promising alternative to inorganic materials exploited in the manufacture of photonics technology employed in data-, tele- communication and optical computing applications. This is mainly due to their superior features that lead to excellent performance, minimisation of costs and ease of manufacture. Urged by this the OPAMD project explored the design, synthesis, processing and fabrication of new polymer based-materials and devices aimed for advanced polymer-based photonic technology platforms. Within the scope of the project two families of innovative polymer-based waveguides were fabricated and demonstrated. More specifically, research partners developed planar and multimode waveguides doped with organo-lanthanide complexes for emission in the visible and the near-infrared. Due to optical excitation of the organo-lanthanide dopants, certain demonstrators were found capable of guiding the emitted visible and near infrared light. Having extensively studied the optical properties of the polymer materials, the filled, embossed structures were successfully shown to act as multimode channel waveguides. Moreover, the innovative fabrication process, where lanthanide complexes are incorporated in hot embossed, polymer, has also been successfully demonstrated. The versatility of the hot embossing process in relation to the integrated optics has been extensively and successfully tested with a number of multilevel-embossed organo-lanthanide doped waveguides. The new polymer electronics technology contributes to the development of low-cost, advanced optically functional materials and devices with a wide range of ICT applications. For further information click at: http://www.tyndall.ie/projects/opamd/(odnośnik otworzy się w nowym oknie)
