Photo-curable optical polymers have established for a wide range of micro-optical applications due to the great flexibility of their processing. Photolithographic patterning of these materials is often the basis for the fabrication of complex micro-optical elements and 3D microstructures. But, in the past, the optical functionality of “thick” microstructures (>50 μm) fabricated by UV-lithography was often limited due to an inhomogeneous internal refractive index distribution. Experiments showed that a homogeneous exposure of an UV-sensitive polymer will not lead to a homogeneous degree of polymerization, but to waveguide-like filament patterns.
For photo-initiated polymerization processes a saturable and integrating non-linear refractive index change during the exposure process is characteristic. We present a general analytic analysis which shows that this non-linear material response leads to a modulational instability (MI) of the exposure light, if a certain degree of spatial coherence is exceeded. Then, perturbations of the incident wave are growing during propagation and the wave decays into filaments with well-defined spatial modulation frequency. It will be shown that these effects are characteristic for photosensitive polymers and different from the conventional MI, e.g. in Kerr-like media. Besides MI, the geometry of the resulting 3D patterns strongly depends on the initial intensity and phase distribution. If the degree of spatial coherence is below the threshold value, initial perturbations are not amplified. Therefore, it will be shown that the choice of suitable coherence properties or the specific modification of the spatial coherence of the effective light source within the lithographic patterning is a capable method to improve the homogeneity of optical microstructures. All theoretical results could be proven successfully within experiments.
In the last decade there was an increasing interest in the investigation and application of so called metamaterials, such as photonic crystals or photonic crystal fibers, where optical properties can be tailored by means of geometry data. Waveguide arrays are another typical example of metamaterials, where the evolution of electromagnetic fields can be controlled by the effective index of the individual guides and the coupling strength between two adjacent guides.
In this paper, the formation of localized states at defects in waveguide arrays is investigated both, theoretically and experimentally. Depending on the relation of the effective waveguide index and the coupling strength different guiding scenarios at an array defect can be observed, which have no analogon in conventional integrated optics. The experimental investigations are realized in polymer waveguides fabricated by UV-lithography. Typical field distributions in the waveguide array are visualized by means of the detection of the fluorescence light above the sample. Using coupled mode theory the experimental results are simulated providing an analytical description.
The use of optical sensor principles in automotive applications is growing fast due to the increasing demand for driver assistance and passenger security systems. Automotive applications demand for compact, low volume or particularly flat microoptical systems for recognition of passengers and obstacles, measuring distances, eye movements etc. The optical concepts need to reach a high level of optical- and opto-electronic integration and demand a high degree of modularity to be able to address different requirements in a flexible way. In this context, the design and realization of several compact optical modules for the sensor as well as for the illumination side are presented, e.g. a wide angle camera optics (FOV = 90° and f-number = 1.1), laser and LED-based illumination modules and an ultra thin camera of 0,2 mm length, based on the apposition eye principle. The specification of these microoptical modules is oriented to fulfil physical as well as economical requirements. In particular, a great compactness and easy scalable fabrication technologies are essential to fulfil the different boundary constraints.
We present the investigation of 3D micro-optical structure formation in photopolymerizable polymers due to controlled self-writing processes. A locally deposited amount of energy during the material exposure leads to a local non-linear change of the refractive index. This results in self-focusing and self-guiding effects. The influence from a set of process parameters (chemical parameters, exposure conditions) on the structure formation is investigated theoretically by an iterative beam propagation method (BPM) to investigate the opportunities for a well directed usage of the self-organizing material character. The basis for this is a theoretical and experimental study of the material response towards the absorbed energy, which is presented in this paper. The experimental realization is exemplarily shown by the fabrication of high aspect ratio conic structures in ORMOCER polymers.
In the field of active phased array antenna applications, the needs for high frequency carriers and very wideband communication and radar systems technologies with low volume, e.g., for airborne applications, drives the development of new concepts for all components of such networks. One building block for the beamforming in active antennas is the summation of signals, coming from different modules of the network. This paper presents the realization of an optical summation via integrated optical fan-out devices consisting of four stacked layers of single-mode waveguides. A novel fabrication method for these all-polymer multilayer devices is developed. This new process scheme as well as experimental results from the characterization of two exemplary versions of fan-outs (with and without equal path lengths) are discussed in detail.
This paper presents the realization of a novel opto-microwave module for signal summation in the application field of active phased array antennas. The building block of the device is an integrated optical waveguide chip consisting of four stacked planar layers of single mode waveguides working at 1550 nm. A newly developed fabrication technology for the 3D waveguide chip enables to sum up 32 or 16 input channels respectively within the two versions of the functional chips, which have been realized so far.
The exposure of thick UV sensitive polymer layers leads to the formation of self-organized refractive index filaments, which appear after a certain layer thickness, typically in the range of 50 μm. This effect has strong influence on the fabrication of, e.g., high precision micro-optical elements. In particular, diffraction limited micro-lenses with high sag or high aspect ratio on-chip collimators require a perfect index homogeneity. We show that the saturable and irreversible change of the polymer refractive index causes a modulational instability (MI), which finally leads to the creation of filaments. It will be presented that a maximum growth rate for a certain spatial frequency of an initial perturbation exists. This MI gain determines the dynamics of the filament formation. The impact of the exposure conditions, e.g., chemical process parameters, on the homogeneity of the UV cured polymer is discussed for ORMOCERTM type polymers.
The exposure of UV-sensitive polymers leads to a saturable and irreversible change of the refractive index up to 0.1 due to the polymerization generated changing material density. This non-linear phenomenon has a strong impact on the structure formation in the UV-assisted fabrication of thick micro-optical elements. E.g., appearing self-focusing effects and time-dependent absorption influence the sidewall geometry, while self-guiding effects have impact on the internal index distribution. Based on a material model, which describes the index change as a function of a set of process parameters, a modified iterative beam propagation algorithm is developed to simulate the structure formation. It is shown theoretically as well as experimentally that the variation of process parameters, e.g. the photo initiator concentration or the initial complex exposure field distribution, offer possibilities to control the structure formation and to make use of the self-organizing tendency. The developed patterning method is optimized for standard contact lithography processes, e.g., in a mask aligner, requiring only low exposure intensities below 10 mW/cm². This enables for performing integral wafer-scale patterning processes, e.g., on optoelectronical substrates. The realization of arrayed on-chip conic light concentrators are presented as an exemplary application.
The understanding of light propagation primarily derives from studies of isotropic media. The law of refraction predicts that the tilt of a beam traversing an interface between two media will monotonously grow with the angle of incidence. The law of diffraction predicts beam spreading being completely determined by the ratio of wavelength and width, only slightly affected by the refractive index and independent of the tilt.
In this paper, we demonstrate anomalies in light refraction and diffraction in evanescently coupled waveguide arrays ('discrete' refraction and diffraction). We have studied the propagation of beams in these arrays. It turned out that refraction and diffraction exhibit strong anomalies as they depend periodically on the initial beam tilt. In contrast to isotropic systems we found that transverse energy transport cannot exceed a certain maximum velocity and that the diffractive spreading depends on the direction of propagation, i.e., by varying the angle of incidence, size and sign of diffraction can be controlled and it can even be arrested. For particular initial tilts the array can undo beam spreading. The experiments were performed on homogeneous arrays of 75 waveguides in an inorganic-organic polymer on thermally oxidized silicon wafers. The 6 cm long samples were fabricated by UV-lithography on 4" wafers. Each waveguide provided low loss single mode waveguiding (<0.5 dB/cm) at λ= 633 nm. The uniform separation of adjacent guides was chosen for efficient evanescent coupling.
The theoretical explanation of the measured effects was done based on coupled mode theory.
The rapid growth of communication continuously demands an increasing number of data transport channels. We present an approach towards a substantial growth of channel numbers within the integrated optical waveguide chip. This is accomplished by introducing a vertical integration scheme, which is implemented with stacked polymer waveguides. To meet the requirements of stacked optical waveguide devices concerning index distributions, cross-sections and alignment precision, a novel fabrication technology has been developed. During the stacking process several fundamental problems, e.g., index inhomogenities caused by diffusion effects and distortion of the desired waveguide structures with increasing stack height, have to be avoided. In addition, the non-linear index change of the polymer materials during polymerization has to be carefully considered to come to well defined index distributions, which are the same in all layers. A solution meeting these requirements is presented using standard processes like UV patterning in combination with thermal curing steps.
The booming telecom market pushes the development towards highly integrated optical devices. For a breakthrough in the increase of packaging densities, a bypass of the limited horizontal dimension of a waveguide chip is necessary. This leads to an introduction of a vertical integration scheme which needs an adapted fabrication method to meet the requirements of integrated optical applications. To this end, a newly developed technology for the stacking of mono-mode waveguides using inorganic-organic hybrid polymers (ORMOCERs) is presented. Besides important advantages concerning an efficient fabrication by UV lithography methods, the stacking process faces several fundamental problems, e.g., broadening of the structures by scattering during UV patterning or the occurrence of index inhomogenities constituted by diffusion effects. Both problems could be solved in the framework of conventional processing techniques, which will be presented. The key points of the new technology, a UV absorber method and a combined UV and thermal curing, are investigated in detail. On the basis of this development the design, fabrication as well as the test of a novel optical fan-out element is discussed. The device consists of four stacked layers of single-mode waveguides, which enables one to accomplish signals from different sources to an output adapted to a single detector. Experimental results as well as the potential for future applications are presented.
Inspired by the observation of Bloch oscillations of electrons in semiconductor supperlattices we recently predicted the existence of Wannier-Stark states as well as Wannier-Stark ladders and consequently the emergence of optical Bloch oscillations in evanescently coupled optical waveguide arrays. Here we show that the required linear variation of the propagation constant across the array can be realized by using the thermo-optic effect in polymers. Beyond the fundamental interest in waveguide arrays for the study of dynamical effects in discrete systems, they have a fair potential in all-optical signal processing. We demonstrate that waveguide arrays allow for temperature- controlled beam steering, while simultaneously minimizing the diffractive beam spreading. Homogeneous arrays of 75 waveguides are fabricated in an inorganic-organic polymer, with each waveguide guiding a single mode (<0.5 dB/cm) at a wavelength of 633 nm. By heating and cooling the opposite sides of the samples, a transverse linear temperature gradient is established. Exciting a few waveguides using a wide Gaussian beam we measure the oscillating transverse motion of the undiffracted output beam for an increasing temperature gradient.
The potential of 3D integrated optics based on different technological schemes is investigated. Theoretical and experimental results for waveguide geometries with stacked waveguide layers and with waveguide circuits prepared on topological structures are reported as well. Within waveguide geometries including individual guides in a sequence of stacked layers directional coupler arrays allow for short length passive signal distribution, and various schemes of single and multipath switching can be identified. Cost effective preparation technologies as spin coating of polymer and PECVD of SiON layers and their patterning by UV- exposure or RIE, respectively, have been prove to fulfill the critical tolerance requirements of a simultaneous directional coupling in two transversal directions. To realize waveguides with smooth height variation gray scale lithography was used to produce topological surfaces. Upon those surfaces waveguide paths and devices can be defined subsequently, which are useful e.g. for non-planar to planar fan out structures or interferometer configurations for sensing applications. The topological surfaces can be replicated very efficiently by reaction molding, a technology widely used for micro-optical structures, too.
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