Propagation properties in short lengths of rectangular epoxy waveguides

Abstract

The propagation loss and beam spreading in large-core epoxy ridge waveguides on a glass substrate at wavelengths ranging from 630 to 1550 nm have been measured. At the intermediate wavelengths, a loss floor of 1.2 dB/cm is observed which is caused by inclusions and wall imperfections. The theoretical and experimentally determined equilibrium numerical aperture is 0.65 and 0.29 and the modal dispersion is 5.1 and 1.0 ps/cm, respectively. The discrepancy is due to strong scattering. The scattering does not give rise to any noticeable mode mixing. The epoxy waveguides also provide a rapid filling of the modes which is attractive for modal noise suppression.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>