Waveguide properties and devices in photopolymer

A dry process photopolymer has been used to construct thermally stable low-loss buried waveguides in a laminated five layer structure based on monomer diffusion processes. To date, practical Y-branch and evanescent coupler prototypes have been constructed and connected to optical fibers for subsequent characterization. Initial evaluation indicates considerable promise for practical, reproducible device construction. Packaging techniques employing an excimer layer to ablate the optical fiber alignment grooves, using the same mask as used for the polymer waveguide formation, are being investigated. The authors expect this to be amenable to large devices on a manufacturing scale. Exposure of polymer guides and alignment grooves using the same mask along with generation of optical vias in the polymer, are expected to facilitate construction of low-loss practical packaged passive devices