Derivatized Porous Silicon Mirrors: Implantable Optical Components with Slow Resorbability

Abstract

The stability of derivatized mesoporous silicon mirrors in simulated human blood plasma has been assessed. The rate at which they are dissolved in-vivo is predicted to be tunable by surface chemistry over timescales of weeks to years, and high reflectivity can be maintained until the bottom of the multilayer stack starts to corrode. Such biodegradable optical components could be utilized to direct and define optical path lengths for therapeutic treatments and minimally-invasive diagnostics.