Silicone polymeric materials are being developed that will allow the hybrid integration of tunable functionality provided by polymer dispersed liquid crystal, PDLC, and continuous phase liquid crystal materials on planar silica-on-silicon and planar polymer light circuits. The advantages of this approach are ease of integration, the possibility for reduced power consumption, and therefore a reduction of the overall cost for component manufacturing and operation. A successful demonstration of a low loss approach to hybrid integration of polymers and liquid crystals is presented. The challenges for successful integration and acceptance will be discussed. New liquid crystal materials are being developed specifically for this application.

Date Published: 14 November 2003
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 5222, Nanocrystals, and Organic and Hybrid Nanomaterials, (14 November 2003); doi: 10.1117/12.504810

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 5222:
Nanocrystals, and Organic and Hybrid Nanomaterials
Alexander N. Cartwright; David L. Andrews; Zeno Gaburro; Charles Y. C. Lee, Editor(s)