ORGANIC-INORGANIC OPTICAL-MATERIALS

We describe the use of an intriguing class of materials, termed polyce rams, for applications in integrated optics. Polycerams are ceramic-po lymer hybrid materials that are synthesized by wet-chemical methods. A s films they can be deposited in single-step operations with thickness es from <100 nm to >5 mum, and their refractive indices and Abbe numbe rs can be varied over a wide range. Polycerams synthesized as planar w aveguides exhibit optical attenuations as low as <0.15 dB/cm, and they can be patterned by embossing. These materials exhibit exceptional op tical properties that are due to combination of organic and inorganic constituents at the molecular level.