Embossed Optical Waveguides

Abstract

Dielectric optical waveguides have been made by embossing grooves in a thermoplastic substrate and filling them with a liquid which is then solidified. Grooves (7 μm wide and 3.5 μm deep) in poly(methyl methacrylate) (n=1.49) were filled with cyclohexyl methacrylate which was photopolymerized to produce a permanent guide (n=1.505). The attenuation was 2–4 dB/cm at λ=0.633 μm.