Stretchable optical waveguides

Abstract

Abstract:We introduce the concept of mechanically stretchable optical waveguides. The technology to fabricate these waveguides is based on a cost-efficient replication method, employing commercially available polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) materials. Furthermore, VCSELs (λ = 850 nm) and photodiodes, embedded in a flexible package, were integrated with the waveguides to obtain a truly bendable, stretchable and mechanically deformable optical link. Since these sources and detectors were integrated, it was possible to determine the influence of bending and stretching on the waveguide performance. Appl. Phys. Lett. 85, 3435-3437 (2004). 7. J. A. Rogers, T. Someya, and Y. Huang, "Materials and mechanics for stretchable electronics," Science 327, 1603Science 327, -1607Science 327, (2010. 8. T. Sekitani, Y. Noguchi, K. Hata, T. Fukushima, T. Aida, and T. Someya, "A rubberlike stretchable active matrix using elastic conductors," Science 321, 1468Science 321, -1472Science 321, (2008. 9. D. Pham, H. Subbaraman, M. Chen, X. Xu, and R. Chen, "Self-aligned carbon nanotube thin-film transistors on flexible substrates with novel source -drain contact and multilayer metal interconnection," IEEE Trans. Nanotechnol. 11, 44-50 (2012).

Polarization-Independent Nematic Liquid Crystal Waveguides for Optofluidic Applications

“…An interesting advantage of PDMS with respect to other materials, such as silicon or glass, is the easy and cheap technological processing to make patterned geometries. Furthermore PDMS has been also recently demonstrated as an interesting material for optical interconnections to replace metallic wired connections suffering from heat dissipation and limitation in high bit rate interconnections [14]. Optical interconnections are surely more power efficient with respect to wired links when distances are greater than a meter [15], along which light polarization of the optical signal is lost, therefore polarization independence can be a desirable feature for optical links and devices.…”

A new twist on glass: A brittle material enabling flexible integrated photonics

“…Using epoxy polymers as the substrate supports bending to sub‐millimeter radius as we discussed in the preceding section, however precludes stretching deformation. Instead, elastomers are the only practical substrate options for simultaneously bendable and stretchable photonics …”

“…Instead, elastomers are the only practical substrate options for simultaneously bendable and stretchable photonics. 40 Photonic integration on elastomer substrates, however, presents a severe technical barrier. First of all, elastomers are known for their gigantic coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE).…”

Conventional elastomers doped with benzophenone derivatives as effective media for all-optical fabrication of tunable diffraction elements

“…One of the most promising materials are elastic polymers, such as polydimethylsiloxanes (PDMS), which thanks to their huge and reversible elastic deformations and good optical quality are widely used for the production of exible and stretchable optical diffraction elements and devices: gratings, couplers, lters, lenses, beam steering devices etc. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Particular attention is focused on the diffraction gratings as the most simple and versatile element for light dispersion. In most studies the gratings manufactured in elastic materials (mostly PDMS) using a replica molding technique are surface relief gratings (SRGs), i.e.…”