Abstract
A detailed study of photo-inscribed optical waveguides in PMMA and polycarbonate using a mid-IR laser is presented. The wavelength of the laser is tuned near the absorption peaks of stretching C-H molecular bonds and the focused beam is scanned onto the surface of planar polymer samples. For the first time, we report the formation of optical waveguides in both polymers through resonant absorption of the laser beam. The optical properties of the waveguides were thoroughly assessed. An elliptic Gaussian mode is guided at the surface of both polymers. Insertion losses of 3.1 dB for a 30 mm long on-surface waveguide inscribed in PMMA were recorded. Such waveguides can interact with the external medium through evanescent coupling. As a proof of concept, the surface waveguides are used as highly sensitive refractometric sensors. An attenuation dynamical range of 35 dB was obtained for a liquid that matches the index of the PMMA substrate. Our results pave the way for large scale manufacturing of low cost biocompatible photonic devices.
Highlights
Over the last decade polymer-based photonic devices have been deployed in a wide range of scientific and industrial fields [1,2,3,4]
We report insertion losses of 3.1 dB for a 30 mm long waveguide inscribed in poly-(methyl methacrylate), inferring propagation losses of 0.8 dB cm-1
We presented a novel fabrication technique for the fabrication of on-surface photonic devices in polymers
Summary
Over the last decade polymer-based photonic devices have been deployed in a wide range of scientific and industrial fields [1,2,3,4]. We have demonstrated that the laser ablation of polymers can be enhanced by tuning a mid-infrared fiber laser at wavelengths resonant with the C-H bond fundamental stretching frequency [12]. In this communication, we present a novel method based on resonant absorption to form on-surface waveguides in polymers. Attenuations of 23.8 and 35.1 dB were recorded for liquids that match the indices of polycarbonate and poly-(methyl methacrylate) respectively This represents an improvement of the sensitivity spanning orders of magnitudes over previously reported refractive index sensors based on optical waveguides [13,14] or fibers [15]. Our results open a new pathway toward the fast processing of photonic sensing devices based on polymers
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