Polymeric matrices offer a wide and powerful platform for integrated photonics, complementary to the well-established silicon photonics technology. The possibility to integrate, on the same chip, different customized materials allows for many functionalities, like the ability to dynamically control the spectral properties of single optical components. Within this context, this Article reports on the fabrication and optical characterization of integrated photonic circuits for the telecom C-band, made of a combination of both rigid and tunable elastic polymers. By using a 3D photolithographic technique (direct laser writing), in a single-step process, every building block of the polymeric circuit is fabricated: straight and bent waveguides, grating couplers, and single and vertically coupled whispering gallery mode resonators designed in planar and vertical geometries. Using this platform, a new type of operation was introduced through true three-dimensional integration of tunable photonic components, made by liquid crystalline networks that can be actuated and controlled by a remote and non-invasive light stimulus. Depending on the architecture, it is possible to integrate them as elastic actuators or as constituents of the photonic cavity itself. The two strategies then exploit the optical induced deformation and variation of its refractive index, inducing a net red or blue shift of the cavity resonances, respectively. This work paves the way for light-tunable optical networks that combine different photonic components, made by glassy or shape-changing materials, in order to implement further photonic circuit requirements.

中文翻译：

---

刚性和软聚合物中的可通过光调节的三维光子电路

聚合物矩阵为集成的光子学提供了广泛而强大的平台，是完善的硅光子学技术的补充。在同一芯片上集成不同定制材料的可能性允许实现多种功能，例如动态控制单个光学组件的光谱特性的能力。在此背景下，本文报道了由刚性和可调弹性聚合物的组合制成的电信C波段集成光子电路的制造和光学特性。通过使用3D光刻技术（直接激光写入），只需一步操作，就可以制造出聚合物电路的每个构造块：直线形和弯曲形的波导，光栅耦合器，以及以平面和垂直几何形状设计的单垂直耦合耳语画廊模式谐振器。使用该平台，通过可调谐光子组件的真正三维集成引入了一种新型操作，该组件由液晶网络制成，可以通过远程无创光刺激来激活和控制。根据体系结构，可以将它们集成为弹性致动器或光子腔体本身的组成部分。然后，这两种策略利用光学诱导的形变和其折射率的变化，分别引起腔共振的净红色或蓝色偏移。这项工作为光可调的光网络铺平了道路，该光网络结合了由玻璃状或形状可变的材料制成的不同光子组件，