Low cost nanoimprinted polymer waveguides

We report here on the use of nanoimprint technology to fabricate low cost planar waveguides in a Polysiloxane polymer system capable of passing the stringent Telcordia environmental and reliability criteria. Low loss buried channel waveguides with core cross sections of 3 times 3 microns and a 2% refractive index contrast were fabricated on bare silicon wafers with a simple and fast four step process using a 100 mm diameter polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamp. The waveguides were patterned using an innovative ldquominimum fluid displacementrdquo method which eliminated the residual films often seen either side of rib like features such as the waveguide cores, and which also produced very good dimensional control of the core itself regardless of the uncured spun core layer thickness.