Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Materials for Photonic Applications

Organic-inorganic hybrid materials are derived from the chemical reaction of silane coupling reagents and metal alkoxides, involving O-Si-C bonds in the matrix. They offer superior characters of combined organic groups and inorganic linkages for various optical applications. This paper reviews preparation and characterization of optical devices and materials derived from these hybrid materials. We mainly describe three topics for micrometer-nanometer scale optical components in our laboratories using organic-inorganic hybrid materials: 1) film formation; 2) patterning by the photolithography techniques; and 3) laser emission from dye-doped hybrid spheres and coated glass spheres.