Advanced Siloxane Waveguide Devices for Telecommunications

This project will develop new methods for fabricating compact, high performance photonic integrated circuits (PICs) for use in future telecommunications networks in films of proprietary Inorganic Polymer Glasses (IPGs) commercialised by RPO Pty Ltd. New fabrication methods are required to overcome limitations of the current approach to patterning IPGs used by RPO Pty Ltd. Research will concentrate on hard contact lithography in conjunction with dry (plasma) etching as well as ion beam milling; laser machining or UV writing for grating production. IPGs present special challenges for these technologies. The project outcomes will include new approaches to processing and the demonstration of the fabrication of innovative PICs in IPGs.