Polymer Photonics has wide applications for future small satellite systems, chemical and biological sensing and secure data storage

Silicon, which has been a leading material in microelectronic industry for decades, is an attracting platform for photonic Integrated Circuits ( PICs )  thanks to transparency in the most widely used telecom wavelength bands, high refractive index contrast with cladding materials (SiO2, polymers, air), well-known processing conditions and production scalability (up to 12 inch wafers). However, expensive silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers are needed to fabricate devices with moderate insertion losses.