Low loss, flexible single-mode polymer photonics

• Main Authors: Zuo, Haijie (Author), Yu, Shaoliang (Author), Gu, Tian (Author), Hu, Juejun (Author)
• Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering (Contributor)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Optical Society, 2020-10-02T21:49:58Z.
• Subjects: Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext

Single-mode polymer photonics is of significant interest to short-reach data communications, photonic packaging, sensing, and biophotonic light delivery. We report here experimental demonstration of mechanically flexible waveguides fabricated by using commercial off-the-shelf biocompatible polymers that claim a record low propagation loss of 0.11 dB/cm near 850 nm wavelength. We also show the excellent flexibility of the freestanding waveguides which can withstand repeated deformation cycles at millimeter bending radius without compromising their low-loss characteristics. High-performance passive optical components, such as waveguide Y-branches, multi-mode interferometers (MMIs), and waveguide crossings are also realized using the polymer photonics platform. ©2019 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement
Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E)
US DOE (DE-AR0000847)