Investigations on the generation of photonic crystals using two-photon polymerization (2PP) of inorganic - organic hybrid polymers with ultra-short laser pulses

Optical devices with micro- and nanooptical elements using polymers and, in particular nano-scaled organic-inorganic hybrid materials such as ORMOCER (R) s, will be beyond of the next generation of optical components. For the generation of photonic elements, 3D photonic bandgap materials have been proposed as the basis of many devices. In order to create complete 3D photonic bandgaps, materials enabling high refractive index contrast are needed. Combining suitable materials with highly sophisticated processing methods such as two-photon polymerization (2PP) using femtosecond lasers is a step towards novel photonic elements. The materials and the patterning process will be discussed with respect these applications. In order to demonstrate the potential of the 2PP method, different classes of materials are investigated. (C) 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim