High-index-contrast optical devices form the backbone of densely integrated photonic circuits. While these devices are
traditionally fabricated using lithography and etching, their performance is often limited by defects and sidewall
roughness arising from fabrication imperfections. This paper reports a versatile, roll-to-roll and backend compatible
technique for the fabrication of high-performance, high-index-contrast photonic structures in composition-engineered
chalcogenide glass (ChG) thin films. Thin film ChG have emerged as important materials for photonic applications due
to their high refractive index, excellent transparency in the infrared and large Kerr non-linearity. Both thermally
evaporated and solution processed As-Se thin films are successfully employed to imprint waveguides and micro-ring
resonators with high replicability and low surface roughness (0.9 nm). The micro-ring resonators exhibit an ultra-high
quality-factor of 4 × 105 near 1550 nm wavelength, which represents the highest value reported in ChG micro-ring
resonators. Furthermore, sub-micron nanoimprint of ChG films on non-planar plastic substrates is demonstrated, which
establishes the method as a facile route for monolithic fabrication of high-index-contrast devices on a wide array of
unconventional substrates.
Inorganic semiconductors are the backbone of present day photovoltaic (PV) technologies. The highest performance solar cells use III-V based materials in complex multijunction device structures and are used primarily in the space industry. The crystalline Si technologies are the mainstay of the commercial terrestrial markets and range from single crystal through large grain polycrystalline materials. Thin film PV technologies, which are approaching large scale manufacturing production levels, consist of polycrystalline CdTe, CuInSe2 and related alloys, and amorphous silicon
(a-Si) and related alloys. The paper provides an historical background on the development of these inorganic PV technologies, followed by a discussion of the present status of each technology. The future directions being pursued to improve performance will also be discussed with emphasis on synergies between the technologies.
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