Multi-Channel Single-Mode Polymer Waveguide Fabricated Using the Mosquito Method

Abstract

We experimentally demonstrate that the Mosquito method is capable of fabricating polymer optical waveguides with single-mode cores. The Mosquito method we developed is a technique to form planar polymer waveguides using a commercially available microdispenser. In this article, the flow of the core monomer dispensed from the tip of the needle is simulated using fluid analysis software. The results show that the shape of the needle periphery significantly affects the fabrication of perfectly circular cross-sectional cores. In addition, we demonstrate that the Mosquito method is capable of reducing the MFD variation to 0.4 μm. We find such a small MFD fluctuation is comparable to that of typical single-mode optical fibers.