Geometrically Reconfigurable, 2D, All‐Organic Photonic Integrated Circuits Made from Two Mechanically and Optically Dissimilar Crystals

Abstract

With the rising concerns about global cybersecurity, safe data transduction that would be impervious to cyber attacks necessitates an immediate shift from electron-based to light-based devices. Here, the construction of silicon-free, all-organic photonic integrated circuits by micromanipulation of organic crystals of two mechanically different materials with complementary optical properties, one of which is plastically bendable, is described. The resulting optical circuits are endowed with mechanical reconfiguration at two levels: first, the individual components can be processed into arbitrary shape before integration into the circuit, and second, the circuit itself is reconfigurable even after it is fabricated. The results do not only demonstrate the infinite structural variations in optical microstructures one can build by using organic crystals, but they also show that deformable light-transducive organic crystals carry an untapped potential for lightweight all-organic optical minicircuitry.