Optical Waveguiding in polyimide

Abstract

Planar optical waveguides were fabricated on glass and fused silica substrates using soluble polyimides. With “as dried” samples total loss values of 0.3 dB/cm were obtained. Evaporation of solvents can be done without affecting the loss values significantly. The influence of curing procedures on the optical properties of the polymer films is discussed. For the low temperature region (< 100°C) a method of producing refractive index patterns within the polymer film via UV lithography is introduced. Finally planar polyimide light-guides on a ceramic substrate with silicone as a cladding layer were demonstrated, with los values < 1.3 dB/cm. © 1986, SPIE.