157 nm F2-laser writing of silica optical waveguides in silicone rubber

Silica (SiO2) optical waveguides have been fabricated on the surface of silicone [(SiO(CH3)2)n] rubber by photochemical modification of silicone rubber into silica with 157 nm F2-laser radiation. The 2 mm thick silicone was exposed through a thin (approximately 0.2 mm) air layer to generate oxygen radicals that chemically assisted in the silica transformation. Silica waveguides were defined in 8-16 microm wide exposure strips by a proximity Cr-on-CaF2 photomask. Optimum laser processing conditions are presented for generating crack-free waveguides with good optical transparency at red (635 nm) and infrared (1550 nm) wavelengths. A propagation loss of approximately 6 dB/cm is reported at the 1550 nm wavelength.     

Solgel grating waveguides for distributed Bragg reflector lasers

Solgel grating waveguides and their application to the fabrication of external-cavity distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) lasers are demonstrated. A new composition of aluminosilicate material is developed for the fabrication of single-mode waveguides and Bragg reflectors. An average loss of <0.2 dB/cm is measured in the single-mode waveguides at 1550 nm. The reflectors show filtering greater than 97% near 1530 nm, with a bandwidth of ~0.6 nm . The Bragg reflectors are used as feedback resonators for DBR lasers. Single-mode lasing with a sidemode suppression of better than 25 dB is demonstrated.     

Low-loss polymeric optical waveguides with large cores fabricated by hot embossing

A simple low-cost method of fabricating polymeric optical waveguides with large core sizes for plastic optical fibers is presented. The waveguides are fabricated by hot embossing with an ultraviolet-cured epoxy resin stamper. The stamper is fabricated by replication of a rectangular groove mold that is made from silicone rubber replicated from a ridged original silicon master. The master is fabricated by anisotropic etching of (110) single-crystal silicon. Optical waveguides with large core sizes of 100-500 microm have been fabricated, and a low propagation loss of 0.19 dB/cm at 650 nm was achieved.     

Low loss optical channel waveguides for the infrared range using niobium based hybrid sol-gel material

In this work, we report the fabrication of single-mode Nb₂O₅ based hybrid sol-gel channel waveguides. Nb₂O₅ based hybrid sol-gel material has been deposited by spin-coating on silicon substrate and channel waveguides have been fabricated by a UV direct laser writing process. Optical guided modes have been observed to confirm single-mode conditions and optical propagation loss measurements have been performed using the cut-back technique. Optical propagation losses were measured to be 0.8 dB/cm and 2.4 dB/cm at 1.31 μm and 1.55 μm respectively. These experimental results demonstrate low loss optical waveguiding within the infrared range and are very promising in view of material choice for the development of integrated optical devices for telecommunication.     

聚硅氧烷改性及多模光波导制备

采用含氢聚硅氧烷(HPSO)和二乙烯基苯(DVB)的交联体掺入聚二甲基硅氧烷(PDMS)中,使改性的聚二甲基硅氧烷(M-PDMS)折射率发生1%～1.8%的改变。M-PDMS及PDMS薄膜具有良好的光透射率和低的传输损耗,是低成本制备用于高速芯片间光互连聚合物光波导的理想材料。采用软成型和图案转移法,用M-PDMS及PDMS分别作波导的芯层和包层制备了截面为50μm×50μm,长度大于20cm的聚硅氧烷多模光波导。用数字化散射法测量了所制备波导的传输损耗,测得输入光波长为633nm时平均传输损耗为0.137dB/cm。     

Single mode ridge waveguides based on vinyltriethoxysilane hybrid sol–gel material

In this work, fabrication and characterization of a single-mode vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES) based hybrid organic–inorganic sol–gel ridge waveguide is reported. VTES based hybrid sol–gel material has been deposited by multiple spin-coating process on quartz substrate. Channel waveguides have been fabricated by UV photopolymerization followed by wet etching process. Optical guided mode was observed to ensure the single mode condition while cut-back technique was performed for loss propagation measurement. Optical propagation losses were measured to be 1.6 dB/cm at 1.31 μm wavelength. This value shows that this material is a promising choice for the development of integrated optical circuits for telecommunication field.     

Ion implantation into fused quartz for integrated optical circuits

Results obtained in the fabrication of slab and strip waveguides by ion implantation into fused quartz are discussed. Using a step-index waveguide model the increase in refractive index is calculated. The optical loss is smaller than 1 dB/cm at λ = 568 nm without annealing. The properties of strip waveguides fabricated by ion implantation through photoresist masks of thicknesses from 0.4 μm to 0.8 μm are described. A bright fluorescence is observed with emission at 530 nm and 640 nm and its dependence on ion fluence and ion energy is measured.     

Ultrafast laser fabrication of low-loss waveguides in chalcogenide glass with 0.65 dB/cm loss

This Letter reports on the fabrication of low-loss waveguides in gallium-lanthanum-sulfide chalcogenide glasses using an ultrafast laser. Spatial beam shaping and temporal pulse width tuning were used to optimize the guided mode profiles and optical loss of laser-written waveguides. Highly symmetric single-mode waveguides guiding at 1560 nm with a loss of 0.65 dB/cm were fabricated using 1.5 ps laser pulses. This Letter suggests a pathway to produce high quality optical waveguides in substrates with strong nonlinearity using the ultrafast laser direct writing technique.     

Polymer-based waveguides with low propagation loss and polarization-dependent loss

Polymeric optical waveguides based on a new synthesized bisphenol A–aldehyde polymer (PA-1 resin) have been fabricated using photolithography and reactive ion etching technique. The polymer is novel with relatively high refractive index, low birefringence and absorption at the optical communication wavelengths. The single-mode channel waveguides exhibit a propagation loss of 0.41±0.05 dB/cm at a wavelength of and 0.5±0.05 dB/cm at for both the TE and TM polarizations. The polarization-dependent loss of the waveguides is 0.1±0.05 dB/cm at these wavelengths.     

K-Na离子交换单模平面波导的制备及其表征

通过K-Na离子交换技术制备了多模玻璃平面波导.采用棱镜耦合技术测量了波导的有效折射率,用IWKB方法拟合得到K-Na离子交换波导的折射率分布符合高斯分布,由色散曲线得到单模波导的制备条件(即扩散深度范围),从而得出单模波导的离子交换时间范围,制备出单模波导,并通过求解WKB色散方程得出单模波导的表面折射率.用普通数码相机,通过对离子交换平面玻璃光波导传输线进行数字成像,根据传输线上的光强分布拟合出光强传输衰减曲线,计算出单模波导的传输损耗大约为0.4 dB/cm.     

有机-无机复合ZrO2-SiO2平面光波导

采用溶胶-凝胶法合成ZrO2-SiO2有机一无机复合光波导材料,通过改变其中ZrO2的含量来调节材料的折射率,使材料分别适用于平面光波导的导光层(ng≈1．497)和衬底层、包层(mb=nc≈1．479)。采用旋转涂膜工艺和相应的热处理,在单晶硅基片上制备衬底层、导光层和包层等薄膜,其中导光层介质因具有感光性而可通过紫外光刻来制备光路图案。所得有机一无机复合ZrO2-SiO2板型平面光波导(衬底层 导光层),用棱镜耦合截断法测试其光损耗在632．8nm波长处约为0．8dB／cm。对板型平面波导的导光层薄膜进行紫外光刻和异丙醇淋洗,制备出脊状光波导通道,在覆盖包层后,即获得埋层沟道式平面光波导。采用端耦合截断法测试了埋层沟道式平面光波导的光损耗(小于0．1dB／cm),并观察了其近场图像以及导光材料在近红外窗口的吸收光谱。     

Synthesis of a fluorinated photoresist for optical waveguide devices

A linear fluorinated bis-phenol-A novolac resin (LFAR) for optical waveguide was synthesized based on 4,4′-(hexafluoro-isopropylidene)diphenol, epoxy chloropropane and formaldehyde. Negative fluorinated photoresist (FP) was made by composing the LFAR, diphenyl iodonium salt and solvent. The film, which was made by spin-coating FP, had good UV light lithograph sensitivity, large hardness and high glass transition temperature (T _g >170°C, after crosslinking). Low-loss optical waveguides with very smooth top surface were fabricated from the resulting FP by direct UV exposure and chemical development. For waveguides without upper cladding, the propagation loss of the channel waveguides was measured to be 0.21 dB/cm at 1550 nm.     

Low-loss amorphous Si waveguides with gradient refractive index cladding structure

Amorphous Si waveguides with gradient refractive index cladding structure are proposed and fabricated using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition method.Compared with 6 dB/cm for ridge waveguide without gradient cladding,the propagation loss of the gradient cladding waveguides is less than 1 dB/cm with both TE and TM polarizations.     

Fabrication of silica-on-silicon planar lightwave circuits by P ECVD and ECR

Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) etching were used in the development of silica layers for planar waveguide applications. The addition of GeH4 to silica was used to control the refractive index of core layers with core-to-clad index differences in the range of 0.2％-1.3％. Refractive index uniformity variance of ±0.0003 was achieved after annealing for 4-inch Si 〈100〉 wafers. The core layers with thickness up to 6 μm were etched by ECR with optimized recipe and mask material. Low-loss silica-on-silicon waveguides whose propagation loss is approximately 0.07 dB/cm at 1550 nm are fabricated.     

A low loss thin-film optical waveguide for integrated optics made by vacuum evaporation

We report the fabrication of low-loss thin film waveguides made by electron beam evaporation of a special glass on fused quartz substrates. The losses are as low as (1.2 ± 0.1) dB/cm at a wavelenght of λ = 676.4 nm and 4.3 dB/cm at λ = 476.2 nm. The dispersion of the waveguide material in the spectral range of 470 nm to 670 nm and the measurement setup used are discussed.     

微细笔直写聚合物条形光波导的研究

提出一种采用微细笔直写技术直写聚合物光波导的简便方法，利用该技术成功直写出了氟化聚酰胺条形光波导，并着重研究了气体压力和直写速度对波导宽度的影响规律。实验结果表明：直写获得的条形波导的边缘整齐、表面光滑，而且不存在小孔等缺陷或杂质。当其他工艺参数不变的情况下，波导宽度随着气体压力的增加而增大，随着直写速度的增大而减小。微细笔直写获得的条形光波导成功地实现了通光，在波长为1550nm处的最小传输损耗为0.59dB/cm。     

Low-loss, damage-resistant optical waveguides in Zn-diffused LiNbO3 by a two-step procedure

In the present work the fabrication of high-quality LiNbO₃ waveguides, based on Zn diffusion from vapor phase using a two-step diffusion process, has been demonstrated. The optical waveguides fabricated using this method have low propagation losses (less than 0.5 dB/cm measured at 633 nm), as a consequence of the high surface quality obtained. High photorefractive damage resistance is reported, and it has been related to the Zn incorporation into the LiNbO₃ crystals. Additional advantages of this waveguide fabrication method due to the low temperature of the process (<900 °C) are to prevent Li out-diffusion and to preserve ferroelectric domain structures. Received: 2 March 2000 / Accepted: 21 June 2000 / Published online: 13 September 2000     

制备多模聚硅氧烷光波导关键技术的改进

本文利用浇铸法,使用M&N胶和OE6450两种聚硅氧烷制备光波导.通过改进制备光波导的多个关键技术, 解决了波导制备过程中的气泡问题、脱模问题、芯层不固化问题、芯层和覆盖层产生化学反应等难题,提出了 比较完备和科学的聚硅氧烷波导制备工艺流程,从而使得波导的制备成品率从原来低于40%提高到高于80%, 波导的最大长度从原来的21 cm增加到22.5 cm,波导的损耗(截断法测量结果)从最初的0.3dB/cm(850 nm)降低到了 0.21dB/cm(850nm).本文在波导制备技术方面具有重要的实际意义和价值.     

Fabrication of ridge waveguides in zinc-substituted lithium niobate by means of ion-beam enhanced etching

We present results on the fabrication and characterization of ridge waveguides in zinc-substituted lithium niobate. High-quality waveguides were fabricated by a combination of liquid-phase epitaxy and multiple applications of ion-beam enhanced etching. The two major demands on ridge waveguides, a very low side-wall roughness and a rectangle shape with side-wall angles close to 90 degrees , were realized simultaneously by using this technique. Single-mode waveguiding at a wavelength of 1064 nm was demonstrated with attenuation values of 0.9 dB/cm.     

Crystalline Pr:SrAl12O19 waveguide laser in the visible spectral region

We fabricated waveguides in Pr:SrAl(12)O(19) crystals by direct femtosecond laser writing. The propagation losses were calculated to be as low as 0.16 dB/cm at a wavelength of 633 nm. Laser oscillation in a diode-pumped waveguide at a wavelength of 643.5 nm was realized. The output power of the waveguide laser was 28.1 mW at a slope efficiency of 8%.