Advances in polymer integrated optics

We report on advances in polymeric waveguide technologies developed worldwi de for the telecom and datacom markets, and we describe in detail one such technology developed at AlliedSignal, Optical polymers are versatile materi als that can be readily formed into planar single-mode, multimode, and micr ooptical waveguide structures ranging in dimensions from under a micrometer to several hundred micrometers, These materials can be thermoplastics, the rmosets, or photopolymers, and the starting formulations are typically eith er polymers or oligomers in solution or liquid monomers, Transmission losse s in polymers can be minimized, typically by halogenation, with state-of-th e-art loss values being about 0.01 dB/cm at 840 nm and about 0.1 dB/cm at 1 550 nm, A number of polymers have been shown to exhibit excellent environme ntal stability and have demonstrated capability in a variety of demanding a pplications, Waveguides can be formed by direct photolithography, reactive ion etching, laser ablation, molding, or embossing, Well-developed adhesion schemes permit the use of polymers on a wide range of rigid and flexible s ubstrates, Integrated optical devices fabricated to date include numerous p assive and active elements that achieve a variety of coupling, routing, fil tering, and switching functions.