Nanoimprint lithography compatible high refractive index optical materials for photonic applications

The optics and photonics fields have been greatly developed in recent years leading to novel devices and applications for organic light emitting devices (OLEDs), high performance screens and virtual and augmented. The further development of these areas will be greatly advanced with the design, synthesis, and engineering of new optical materials with enhanced performance and excellent properties including high refractive index. The development of high refractive index materials is very challenging due to the high light absorption of the molecules and atoms required in the design of the molecular structure. Besides high refractive index and transparency, the synthesized materials must be easily processable, cost-effective, have long shelf-life and durability under extreme l conditions. These materials need to be easily nanopatterned with high resolutions and fidelity with a high throughput. We present the development of purely organic polymers with high refractive index for nanoimprint lithography. They are the organic polymers with the highest refractive index commercially available. The proposed materials are transparent in visible wavelengths, can be nanoimprinted with high resolution and have good durability for promising long service life stability. They can be spin-on or solvent-free materials. The developed high refractive index polymers can serve as an organic matrix for inorganic nanocrystals to create nanocomposites with even higher refractive indices. These materials represent the state-of-the-art in functional materials for nanoimprint lithography with applications in advanced photonics and will push the progression of several fields requiring high refractive index configurations including virtual and augmented reality.