Waveguide Fabrication Technologies

Three-dimensional wavelength demultiplexing has also been recently introduced as the multilevel extension of the planar AWG. It, however, suffers from difficulties in its packaging. On the other hand, the 3D MMl PHASAR is compatible with the planar waveguide fabrication technologies and has no special packaging problems. 

Nonlinear polymers in which second harmonic active molecules are incorporated into a polymer matrix offer interesting possibilities for waveguide SHG by virtue of their fabrication technology. The multi-layer films needed for waveguiding can be fabricated by simple spinning techniques already in use for decades in the electronics industry, and systematic calibration of the process al-... 

It was already pointed out that single or multilayer dielectric coatings can reduce the loss of a leaky capillary waveguide substantially, but that it was difficult to see this improvement in practice due to fabrication imperfections [11]. Advances in fabrication technology have helped improve these imperfections. In addition, a strong need for liquid-core waveguides with small cross sections of a few microns... 

This hybrid waveguide fabrication technique can be applied for an optical sampling device and a compact all-optical switching device. The application of hybrid waveguides will be key in optical signal processing technologies. 

More recendy, a novel and promising technology called substrate integrated waveguide (SIW), an already well-known fabrication technology for rigid printed circuit... 

The market for fused siUca started ia 1906 with the sale of siUca muffles and pipes. That same year resulted ia the iacorporatioa of the Thermal Syadicate Ltd. Siace that time, worldwide sale of vitreous siUca material and fabricated products has continued to grow. The sales of vitreous siUca iagots, tubes, rods, plates, fabricated products, photomask blanks, cmcibles, and optics was estimated to be between 800 million to 1 biUion ia 1995. These figures do aot, however, take iato accouat the optical waveguide market based oa fused siUca technology. 

Figure 3. Cross section of the two basic geometries for microresonators with port waveguides (a) vertical arrangement (h) lateral arrangement (the dashed region indicates the analyte layer). The structure in this case is fabricated in silicon-based technology, with the index of refraction of Si02 and Si3N4 1.45 and 2.0 respectively.

---