Silicon-free, low-loss and high contrast polymer multimode waveguides

The fabrication and characterization of SU-8 multimode optical waveguides on fused quartz and silicon oxide substrates were successfully realized and analyzed. Optical losses for the transverse electric (TE) mode polarization of 0.58 dB cm⁻¹ and 1.44 dB cm⁻¹ and transverse magnetic (TM) mode polarization of 0.73 dB cm⁻¹ and 1.16 dB cm⁻¹ were measured for SU-8 waveguides on fused quartz and silicon oxide substrates, respectively. The fabrication process for SU-8 waveguides on quartz developed herein could be applied for SU-8 optical integrated devices on other substrate materials. (paper)