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Flexible and tunable silicon photonic circuits on plastic substrates
1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
Scientific Reports
|September 7, 2012
Summary
Researchers created flexible silicon photonics by transferring circuits onto plastic. This innovation allows for tunable optical characteristics and opens doors for advanced sensors and biomedical devices.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Photonics
- Microelectronics
Background:
- Flexible microelectronics offer unique advantages over rigid conventional systems.
- Applications include consumer electronics, conformal sensors, and biomedical devices.
- Transferring high-quality semiconductor devices onto plastic substrates is a key fabrication strategy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate a flexible form of silicon photonics.
- To investigate the performance of transferred photonic circuits on plastic.
- To explore the tunability of optical characteristics through mechanical deformation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a transfer-and-bond fabrication method.
- Integrated photonic circuits, including interferometers and resonators, onto flexible plastic substrates.
- Investigated the impact of mechanical deformation on optical properties.
Main Results:
- Successfully transferred functional photonic circuits onto flexible plastic substrates.
- Preserved the performance and functionalities of the silicon photonic devices.
- Achieved reversible tuning of optical characteristics over a large range via mechanical deformation.
Conclusions:
- The developed silicon-on-plastic (SOP) platform enables flexible photonic systems.
- This technology facilitates tunable photonics and optomechanical sensors.
- Potential applications include biomechanical and bio-photonic probes.
