A new method for producing graded index PMMA waveguides

We report a new method for producing graded index polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) waveguides using optical densification by angled X-ray exposure. The resulting larger refractive index near the surface of the waveguide serves to better isolate the guided light from potentially absorbing or scattering substrates than in waveguides of constant refractive index. We calculate that a 65/spl deg/ angle exposure in 6-μm-thick planar PMMA waveguide shifts the peak of the fundamental mode profile /spl sim/0.5 μm away from the substrate. Consistent with this result, we measure a reduction in the propagation loss of PMMA planar waveguides on a Ni substrate from 1.5 dB/cm to 0.5 dB/cm after angle X-ray exposure.