Description:This report discusses the use of the use of polymers instead of and in conjunction with, traditional platforms such as indium phosphide and ferroelectric ceramic lithium niobate. This review report gives an overview of all the elements of optical transmission and switching systems that are used in telecommunications and is a fully interdisciplinary account of materials and device design issues. An additional indexed section containing several hundred abstracts from the Rapra Polymer Library database gives useful references for further reading.