Cross-linkable fluorinated poly(ether ether ketone) polymers for optical waveguide devices

Abstract

Cross-linkable fluorinated poly(ether ether ketone) (F-PEEK) polymers are systematically studied for low-loss optical waveguide. Two new bisphenol monomers, (3-trifluoromethyl)phenylhydroquinone (3F-PH) and (3,5-ditrifluoromethyl)phenyl hydroquinone (6F-PH), are prepared. Novel 3F-PEEK and 6F-PEEK polymers are synthesized from these two monomers. By spin coating and thermal cross-linking, the polymeric films provide good optical properties, including high thermal stability, low absorption loss at telecommunication wavelengths and easy control of the refractive index. The single-mode channel waveguides, with propagation loss of less than 0.6 dB/cm, have been fabricated at 1550-nm wavelength.