Fabrication of an Optical Polymer Waveguide by Plasma Enhanced Polymerization

Abstract

We have fabricated an optical polymer waveguide using plasma-enhanced polymerization. C₆H₆ and C₆H₁₀ are used as monomer materials for depositing core and cladding layer, respectively, because the refractive index of polymerized layers dominantly depend on the ratio of sp² and sp³ bond in those. By decreasing rf power less than 0.04 W/cm² dangling-bonds formed in a polymer film will be suppressed, so that a relative low loss waveguide has been fabricated. We have measured propagation loss of those waveguides in end-fire method by using laser light at 787 nm wavelength. The losses are 3.2 cm^-1 for the samples plasma-polymerized in Ar.