LOW-LOSS, SINGLE-MODE, ORGANIC POLYMER WAVE-GUIDES UTILIZING REFRACTIVE-INDEX TAILORING

Low-loss, single-mode optical waveguides have been fabricated from pho topolymerizable acrylic monomers, The material system consists of a lo w-index cladding resin and a high-index core resin, The two resins are miscible so that precise control over the refractive index can be obt ained, This allows the fabrication of single-mode waveguides with spec ific cross-sectional dimensions, One advantage of this is the ability to fabricate waveguides with high coupling efficiencies to other devic es such as optical fiber or semiconductor lasers, The materials adhere to a wide variety of substrates and exhibit average waveguide losses of 0.56 dB/cm at 1300 nm for single-mode waveguides, Details of the fa brication procedure, index of refraction tailoring technique, and wave guide loss data are presented.