Feasibility Study of Making Patterned Optical Devices Based on Microfibers for Optical Interconnect Applications

Microfibers would provide an advantage of smaller roughness compared with the waveguides made by utilizing semiconductor processes. For optical interconnect applications, the concept of patterning optical devices based on such microfibers is proposed and tested. Microrings are made as an illustration by first patterning grooves on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates, and then micro/nano optical wires are placed into the grooves by micromanipulation. After being sealed by PDMS for optical characterization, the microrings properly show the resonance spectra. With such a patterning technique, the feasibility of using microfiber-based optical devices for the optical interconnect is confirmed.