Microfabrication of mould masters for passive polymer optical waveguide devices

The authors have made V-groove arrays by anisotropic etching of silicon and reproduced them in polymer by embossing. They have also made single mode waveguides using photoresist and silica on silicon masters. By using a combination of wet and dry etching processes, the authors have then produced a single master shim combining single mode waveguides and V-grooves. The V-grooves are pre-aligned to the inputs and outputs of the waveguide device so as to provide passive alignment of fibres to the device