Photonics optical circuitry

Indeed these qualities have been developed since the mid-Century so that in a particular segment of the information industry such as telephones and communications, our volume of synthetic polymers used annually exceeds that of any other class of materials, although the actual tonnage of metallic and inorganic matter still leads. For the world of tomorrow, we find microelectronics, thin film circuitry and systems and, especially now photonics, with lasers and light guides, to be dominant components. All of these strongly use polymers, for their special physical-chemical as well as familiar mechanical and electro-optical qualities. 

Many interesting phenomena and results can be found studying nonlinear optical properties of one-dimensional photonic crystals. The availability of strong light confinement and tailoring of the dispersive properties allows to design and develop new miniaturized devices for photonic circuitry. 

Among the third-order effects, of particular interest is the light intensity dependence of refractive index of the medium. This light control by light phenomenon, being an all-optical effect, provides the fastest photonic mechanism available. Another important application of photonics is derived from the intensity dependence of optical transmittance of materials. This phenomenon is the principle of optical power limiting used for sensor, human eye or electronic circuitry protection. The above two applications are the examples of the intensity dependent complex third-order optical susceptibility of a photonic medium. 

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