Polycyanurate ester resins with low loss and low birefringence for use in integrated optics

Abstract

In the age of information society and internet the requirements of fast transfers of large data streams for different applications are growing day by day. Killer-applications like teleconferencing, video-on-demand, online-games, virtual reality etc. are waiting in the wings. The optical network technology using the great bandwidth of glass fibre is the most suitable technology for these demands. Not only glass fibre is required, but also a broad range of optical components, such as multiplexers, demultiplexers, optical switches, optical attenuators, splitters and combiners, which are usually produced in silica technology. Polymeric materials are becoming more and more interesting for these applications, since they promise for instance lower power consumption and a reduction of production costs compared to their silica based pendants. Polycyanurate ester resins are a relatively new class of high-performance polymers with outstanding properties, for example high thermal stability, low optical loss, low dielectric constant, good adhesion and outstanding mechanical properties. This paper focuses on optical loss and birefringence of such materials at 1550 nm. The results lead the way to optimization for use in integrated optics and for the production of embedded waveguides and devices.