Self-organized optical waveguides targeting luminescent objects in photopolymers

Self-Organized Lightwave NETwork (SOLNET) can construct self-organized optical waveguides targeting luminescent objects in photopolymers, whose refractive index increases upon write beam exposure. As Fig. 1 shows, when a write beam from the left-hand-side optical device enters a photopolymer, luminescent objects deposited on the right-hand-side devices generate luminescence. In the region, where the write beam and the luminescence overlap, the refractive index of the photopolymer increases, pulling the write beam to the luminescent objects. Finally, by the self-focusing, self-aligned permanent optical waveguides of SOLNET are constructed, even when misalignments and core size mismatching exist between the devices.