Optical Materials

Fraunhofer ISC develops optical material systems based on ORMOCER^® hybrid polymers. These can be utilized in various optical applications such as data transmission, imaging and illumination optics, sensor technology, and in display technology.
 

The required property profiles of the ORMOCER^®s for each application can be adjusted by a specific choice of precursors and synthesis conditions. In general, due to their inorganic basic structure, the materials achieve excellent optical quality and high reliability (yellowing; thermal stability) as in glasses while at the same time providing the similar processing opportunities as organic polymers, e. g. by lithographic methods or imprint technology.
 

Inherent advantages of Fraunhofer ISC optical material systems are:

• Processing by thermal or photochemical crosslinking (3D printing, Two-Photon Polymerization, lithography, inkjet)
• Optical properties such as transmission and refractive index adjustable
• Tunable mechanical properties
• Formulation with nanoparticles possible, e. g. to increase refractive index or with quantum dots