Coupling Fibers to Planar Waveguides Using a High-Temperature Epoxy

Computer simulation was used to understand the adhesive-based coupling of optical fibers to planar waveguides with a view to adhesive development. Satisfactory coupling performance could be achieved with facet-angled fibers and waveguides, regardless of the adhesive’s index and optical loss. A high-temperature epoxy adhesive was developed for coupling applications based on the simulation. The adhesive is able to achieve a material-related loss of ?0.05 dB and a back-reflection loss of less than ?50 dB in the coupling. In addition, the adhesive has excellent mechanical and thermal properties and can easily meet the Telcordia standard GR1221 while withstanding high temperatures and high optical power.