Direct ArF excimer laser microfabrication methods for polymer photonics

Direct laser ablative microfabrication methods are exploited in the development of polymer photonic structures. A dedicated experimental microfabrication facility using ArF excimer laser radiation at λ = 193 nm has been developed. It operates, in conjunction with soft-lithography, chemical post-processing and laser deposition methods, aiming to high quality materials processing. The flexibility of the alternative techniques developed here is demonstrated through the fabrication of exemplar photonic structures, including surface relief holograms, planar optical waveguide and polymer fiber structures. The versatility of the technique is verified by patterning geometrically complex and non-planar surfaces, towards a complete suite of alternative and flexible tools for fabricating polymer photonics.