Photosensitive optical materials are used for establishing more versatile approaches for optical device formation. In some embodiments, unpatterned light is used to shift the index-of-refraction of planar optical structures to shift the index-of-refraction of the photosensitive material to a desired value. This approach can be effective to produce cladding material with a selected index-of-refraction. In additional embodiments gradients in index-of-refraction are formed using photosensitive materials. In further embodiments, the photosensitive materials are patterned within the planar optical structure. Irradiation of the photosensitive material can selectively shift the index-of-refraction of the patterned photosensitive material. By patterning the light used to irradiate the patterned photosensitive material, different optical devices can be selectively activated within the optical structure.