We successfully fabricate polymer optical waveguides with graded-index (GI) circular cores whose diameter and interchannel pitch are accurately controlled using the Mosquito method: GI-core waveguides with 250-, 125- and 62.5-μm pitches are successfully obtained. The Mosquito method utilizing a microdispenser is a very simple technique for fabricating GI-circular-core polymer optical waveguides. The accurately controlled pitch is confirmed by a high connectivity with a commercially available multimode fiber (MMF) ribbon with a 125-μm pitch. Furthermore, by inserting the waveguide between two 12-channel MMF ribbons, we experimentally demonstrate 11.3 Gbps × 12 Ch. parallel signal transmission through a GI-core waveguide with a 125-μm pitch for the first time to the best of our knowledge.

A fan-in/out polymer optical waveguide with 25-μm cores and 40-μm interchannel pitch is fabricated for a multimode multicore fiber using a microdispenser. We design a fan-in/out structure to which the Mosquito method is applicable since the Mosquito method is capable of drawing a circular graded-index core three-dimensionally. Then, we experimentally fabricate a 10-cm long fan-in/out polymer waveguide with seven cores, which is expected to connect a multicore fiber and a fiber ribbon. A minimum insertion loss of 5.26 dB at 850-nm wavelength for a 10-cm long fan-in/out waveguide is experimentally observed. Causes of variation in the insertion loss and interchannel pitch are discussed.

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