This paper reports a versatile, roll-to-roll and backend compatible technique for the fabrication of high-index-contrast photonic structures on both silicon and plastic substrates. The fabrication technique combines low-temperature chalcogenide glass film deposition and resist-free singlestep thermal nanoimprint to process low-loss (1.6 dB/cm), sub-micron single-mode waveguides with a smooth surface finish using simple contact photolithography. Using this approach, the first chalcogenide glass micro-ring resonators are fabricated by thermal nanoimprint. The devices exhibit an ultra-high quality-factor of 4 × 10 5 near 1550 nm wavelength, which represents the highest value reported in chalcogenide glass micro-ring resonators. Furthermore, sub-micron nanoimprint of chalcogenide glass 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.

Organic polymer materials are widely credited with extreme versatility for thin film device processing. However, they generally lack the high refractive indices of inorganic semiconductors essential for tight optical confinement in planar integrated photonic circuits. Inorganic–organic hybrid photonic systems overcome these limits by combining both types of materials, although such hybrid integration remains challenging given the vastly different properties of the two types of materials. In this paper, a new approach is used to realize inorganic–organic hybrid photonics using chalcogenide glass (ChG) materials. Known as an amorphous semiconductor, the glass possesses high refractive indices, and can be prepared in a thin film form through solution deposition and patterned via direct thermal nanoimprinting, processing methods traditionally exclusive to polymer materials only. Sub‐micrometer waveguides, microring resonators, and diffraction gratings fabricated from solution processed (SP) ChG films can be monolithically integrated with organic polymer substrates to create mechanically flexible, high‐index‐contrast photonic devices. The resonators exhibit a high quality factor (Q‐factor) of 80 000 near 1550 nm wavelength. Free‐standing, flexible ChG gratings whose diffraction properties can be readily tailored by conformal integration on nonplanar surfaces are also demonstrated.

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 × 10 5 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.

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