Recent progresses in materials development, device engineering and mechanical design have given birth to photonic systems with unconventional functionalities such as mechanical flexibility, biocompatibility and resorbability. These novel features facilitate the integration of photonic and electronic devices with soft, elastic and/or curved biological tissues. Interfacing photonic components with biological systems provides powerful capabilities for diagnostics, therapeutics and surgery both in vitro and in vivo.

Innovative material design and device architectures are being actively pursued to address the challenges associated with the multifunctional integration of organic/inorganic photonic components with various biological systems. Latest scientific and technical advances have broadened the palette of materials which spans from organic polymers to semiconductors, metals, ceramics, glasses, and hybrid materials across different structural hierarchies and length scales. Innovative processing and assembly, based on a clever combination of these new materials, have enabled a wide spectrum of optoelectronic devices like waveguides, LEDs, photodetectors and lasers to be integrated onto wearable and implantable platforms by leveraging non-classical fabrication methods include advanced 3D manufacturing, transfer printing, nanolithography and self-assembly. These bio-integrated systems open up emerging application venues include but are not limited to epidermal sensors, optogenetic probes, and implantable transient devices.

This symposium provides a forum to discuss various approaches to realize advanced high performance bio-integrated photonic materials, devices and systems. It will focus on functional material design, characterization and their applications in photonic devices for wearable and bio-implantable applications. The presentations and invited talks cover interdisciplinary fields including materials science, physics, chemistry, biology, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering.