Fabrication technology for PDMS ridge waveguide using DLW

As the most fundamental unit of photonic integration, optical waveguides offer the possibility of developing efficient and practical photonic chips by facilitating the on‐chip integration of devices with different functions. Femtosecond direct laser writing (FsDLW), as a burgeoning 3D microfabrication technology, can realize the rapid formation of arbitrary optical waveguides without any mask inside versatile materials, such as crystalline dielectric crystals, glasses, polymers, and photoresists. This significant material‐independence allows FsDLW to combine different materials and manufacturing processes to implement a cross‐platform solution. This review first describes the different optical loss types and suitable measurement methods for different applicable scenes, then summarizes the two fabrication mechanisms and points out the general direction for adjusting the waveguide properties by fabrication processes. Finally, the application fields and development prospects of different materials are discussed by overviewing the characteristics of different materials and the material selection preferences of different devices. With a panoramic view of the development, it is concluded with insights and perspectives of the future development of optical waveguides and processing technology via FsDLW.

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Section: Waveguide Materials For Fsdlwmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Up to now, different materials have been utilized to microfabricate optical waveguides via FsDLW, such as dielectric crystals, [56,57,67] glasses, [85,97] polymers, [63,96,98] and two-photon photoresists. [99][100][101][102] Different materials will exhibit their own performance advantages.…”

Section: Waveguide Materials For Fsdlwmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optical Waveguides Fabricated via Femtosecond Direct Laser Writing: Processes, Materials, and Devices

Cao

Qiu

et al. 2023

Adv Materials Technologies

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“…properties (e.g., wavelength shift due to changes in the surroundings) makes optical sensing platforms of great interest for different applications including metrology, quality and process control, health, and security [1][2][3]. Polymer based sensors have been widely used in various fields, such as optics, electromagnetics, and biomedicine [4]. For the applications of optical sensors and devices, polymer materials have been commonly used in the fabrication of optical waveguides, fibers, and micro-optics devices due to their optical properties, plasticity, and outstanding mechanical stability [5].…”

Section: Photonic Sensorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Demonstration of a Polymer-Based Single Step Waveguide by 3D Printing Digital Light Processing Technology for Isopropanol Alcohol-Concentration Sensor

2021

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A polymer based horizontal single step waveguide for the sensing of alcohol is developed and analyzed. The waveguide is fabricated by 3-dimensional (3D) printing digital light processing (DLP) technology using monocure 3D rapid ultraviolet (UV) clear resin with a refractive index of n = 1.50. The fabricated waveguide is a one-piece tower shaped ridge structure. It is designed to achieve the maximum light confinement at the core by reducing the effective refractive index around the cladding region. With the surface roughness generated from the 3D printing DLP technology, various waveguides with different gap sizes are printed. Comparison is done for the different gap waveguides to achieve the minimum feature gap size utilizing the light re-coupling principle and polymer swelling effect. This effect occurs due to the polymer-alcohol interaction that results in the diffusion of alcohol molecules inside the core of the waveguide, thus changing the waveguide from the leaky type (without alcohol) to the guided type (with alcohol). Using this principle, the analysis of alcohol concentration performing as a larger increase in the transmitted light intensity can be measured. In this work, the sensitivity of the system is also compared and analyzed for different waveguide gap sizes with different concentrations of isopropanol alcohol (IPA). A waveguide gap size of 300 µm gives the highest increase in the transmitted optical power of 65% when tested with 10 µL (500 ppm) concentration of IPA. Compared with all other gaps, it also displays faster response time (t = 5 seconds) for the optical power to change right after depositing IPA in the chamber. The measured limit of detection (LOD) achieved for 300 µm is 0.366 µL. In addition, the fabricated waveguide gap of 300 µm successfully demonstrates the sensing limit of IPA concentration below 400 ppm which is considered as an exposure limit by “National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health”. All the mechanical mount and the alignments are done by 3D printing fused deposition method (FDM).

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“…Devices (here including devices/structures/patterns) based on low-cost polymer materials have been widely used in various fields, such as optics, electromagnetics, and biomedicine [1,2,3,4]. For the applications of optical devices, polymer-based optical materials have been commonly used in the fabrication of optical waveguides, polymer fibers, and micro-optics devices [5,6,7,8,9,10] due to the high optical transmission properties, good plasticity, and excellent mechanical stability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polymer-Based Device Fabrication and Applications Using Direct Laser Writing Technology

Yin

et al. 2019

Polymers

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Polymer materials exhibit unique properties in the fabrication of optical waveguide devices, electromagnetic devices, and bio-devices. Direct laser writing (DLW) technology is widely used for micro-structure fabrication due to its high processing precision, low cost, and no need for mask exposure. This paper reviews the latest research progresses of polymer-based micro/nano-devices fabricated using the DLW technique as well as their applications. In order to realize various device structures and functions, different manufacture parameters of DLW systems are adopted, which are also investigated in this work. The flexible use of the DLW process in various polymer-based microstructures, including optical, electronic, magnetic, and biomedical devices are reviewed together with their applications. In addition, polymer materials which are developed with unique properties for the use of DLW technology are also discussed.

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Fabrication technology for PDMS ridge waveguide using DLW

Cited by 14 publications

References 14 publications

Optical Waveguides Fabricated via Femtosecond Direct Laser Writing: Processes, Materials, and Devices

Optical Waveguides Fabricated via Femtosecond Direct Laser Writing: Processes, Materials, and Devices

Demonstration of a Polymer-Based Single Step Waveguide by 3D Printing Digital Light Processing Technology for Isopropanol Alcohol-Concentration Sensor

Polymer-Based Device Fabrication and Applications Using Direct Laser Writing Technology

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