Implantable biophotonic devices are highly in demand for applications such as in-vivo sensing, imaging, and optogenetic neural stimulation. The researchers propose to design, fabricate, and characterize compact, flexible, and biocompatible photonic structures built entirely from Parylene. They will integrate such waveguides with switches and light sources to realize a fully reconfigurable and integrated photonic platform.
An all-Parylene photonic platform has never been published. Such an innovation would have immediate impact as Parylene is routinely used in ultra-flexible, implantable systems. Biocompatible and flexible integrated photonic structures are required that do not degrade, delaminate, or fall apart when used in chronic applications. Recent advances in flexible photonics mostly rely on transferring guided-wave devices to a flexible substrate to realize heterogeneous pseudo-flexible photonic devices. Such implementations are vulnerable to degradation and failure are only suitable for short-term diagnostic implants. The proposed research introduces a new platform for realizing compact and flexible integrated photonic devices leveraging an already well-developed biocompatible material system used for encapsulating biodevices. This program includes a well-conceived plan for outreach activities.
