Formation of 3D Polymer Optical Waveguides

The Mosquito method, a polymer optical waveguide fabrication method invented by Professor Ishigure at Keio University, enables the three-dimensional (3D) formation of core patterns in cladding using a commercially available micro dispenser and a multi-axis syringe-scanning robot. This fabrication method is expected to be used to realize devices required for 3D waveguides such as Fan-in/Fan-out (FIFO) devices, which are essential for the introduction of multicore fibers (MCF). On the other hand, prior studies have mainly examined multimode waveguides, and several issues need to be solved for making single-mode devices. In particular, the core shape tends to deteriorate from circular due to monomer flow caused by needle scanning in the cladding, which is a factor that increases the connection loss with the optical fiber. This paper presents a theoretical and experimental study on the fabrication of single-mode waveguides by the Mosquito method and the formation of circular cores using the method to reduce connection loss with single-mode optical fibers. © 2022 Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd.. All rights reserved.