PROCESSING AND OPTICAL-PROPERTIES OF INORGANIC-ORGANIC HYBRIDS (POLYCERAMS) .1. MPEOU-BASED WAVE-GUIDES

Sol-gel techniques have been employed to synthesize a number of organi c-modified hybrid materials (polycerams) using a functionalized organi c polymer (N-triethoxysilylpropyl O-polyethylene oxide urethane) toget her with a range of metal alkoxides and acetates, Despite the disparat e nature of the constituents, the chemistry and processing have been s uccessfully controlled to achieve a high level of homogeneity down to the molecular level. The optical properties (index of refraction, loss , dispersion and transmittance) of the polycerams are reported as func tions of various metal oxides. These properties are then correlated to the homogeneity of the network. Polycerams of differing compositions can be easily designed and synthesized to yield low-loss (< 1 dB/cm) o ptical waveguides with the desired refractive index and dispersion.