  The ability to manufacture nanomaterials with complex and structured
composition using otherwise incompatible materials increasingly underpins the
next generation of technologies. This is translating into growing efforts
integrating a wider range of materials onto key technology platforms1 - in
photonics, one such platform is silica, a passive, low loss and robust medium
crucial for efficient optical transport2. Active functionalisation, either
through added gain or nonlinearity, is mostly possible through the integration
of active materials3, 4. The high temperatures used in manufacturing of silica
waveguides, unfortunately, make it impossible to presently integrate many
organic and inorganic species critical to achieving this extended
functionality. Here, we demonstrate the fabrication of novel waveguides and
devices made up of complex silica based materials using the self-assembly of
nanoparticles. In particular, the room temperature fabrication of silica
microwires integrated with organic dyes (Rhodamine B) and single photon
emitting nanodiamonds is presented.
