Titanium oxo-clusters as nanobuilding blocks for microsystems technology

Abstract

The demand for integrated optical devices has attained a key position in the expansion of communication networks. The increasing need for higher data rates could be overcome by a continuous decrease in structural dimensions in electronic, optical, or optoelectronic devices. Thus, multifunctional materials are needed which allow the production of highly sophisticated micro- and nano-systems by simple processing technologies. A possible way of tuning the material properties such as, the refractive index, is the addition of hybrid nanobuilding blocks (NBBs) in form of metal oxo-clusters into an inorganic–organic hybrid host material (ORMOCER®).Organically modified metal oxide clusters can be obtained by a reaction of metal alkoxides with carboxylic acids. Benzoic acid functionalized titanium oxo–alkoxo-clusters such as Ti6O4(C6H5COO)8(OR)8 (R=Et, Prn, Bun) have been achieved with a very good yield (up to 89%). Dispersion of these clusters in ORMOCER® matrices leads to a homogeneous, photo-patternable hybrid system with tailored properties. The refractive index of the host ORMOCER® matrix could be increased from 1.552 to 1.575 at 635 nm by the addition of these titanium clusters (ca. 2.2 mol%.). The novel hybrid materials including NBBs can have similar flexibility in processing than the host matrices, offering a broad variety of applications in microsystems technology.