Fabrication of polymeric optical waveguides by B-staged bisbenzocyclobutene (BCB)

This paper reports the fabrication of polymeric optical waveguides. Single mode planar slab waveguides and straight waveguides had been fabricated from the organic polymer B-staged bisbenzocyclobutene (BCB) from DOW Chemical. A low cost fabrication method, chemical etching is used to form the waveguides on BK7 glass substrates. The processing conditions required for the fabrication of single mode optical waveguides are presented.