Integrated photonics put at full stretch: flexible and stretchable photonic devices enabled by optical and mechanical co-design

We present recent development on integrated flexible and stretchable photonic devices. Conventional photonic devices are fabricated on rigid semiconductor or dielectric substrates and are therefore inherently incompatible with soft biological tissues. Recently, we have developed a suite of active and passive photonic devices and systems integrated on plastic substrates which can be bent, twisted, and stretched without compromising their optical performance. Key innovations are monolithic multi-material integration and advanced micro-mechanical structures co-designed with photonic devices, which enables devices with extreme mechanical flexibility and excellent optical performance.