UV-Curable Hybrid Polymers for Micro optics - Material Solutions for Industrial Manufacturing of 3D Optical Components

Inorganic-organic hybrid polymers have already been widely applied in photonic applications and the ma nufacture of microlenses or 2D and 3D waveguides. Due to their excellent optical transparency and high thermal and climate stability they have been successfully implemented i n the industrial manufacture of 3D optical componen ts and microoptical systems down to the chip level. A brief rev iew on UV-curable hybrid polymers consisting of both inorganic and organic functional units and thus combining superio r material properties in just one material class wi ll be given. The hybrid polymer material properties can be adjusted in a wide range enabling the use in UV-based replic ation or UVnanoimprint lithography (NIL) techniques. Several p olymer types are available applicable in various co ating methods like spin coating, droplet dispensing or inkjet pri nting, e.g. OrmoComp ® , OrmoClear ® , Ormocore, and InkOrmo. Aside of their applicability in 2D, emphasis will be give n in particular on the evaluation of hybrid polymer materials for twophoton absorption (TPA) lithography for the manufacture of enhanced 3D optical components. Furthermore, new developments with high refractive index will be pre sented.