Flexible optical waveguide and process for its production

Abstract

The invention provides a flexible optical waveguide in which an optical waveguide film is directly formed on a substrate without using an adhesive and which is excellent in flexibility of the optical waveguide film, including the substrate, and excellent in adhesiveness between the substrate and the optical waveguide film, as well as a process for producing the flexible optical waveguide in a simple and easy manner. The flexible optical waveguide includes a lower cladding layer, a core layer, and an upper cladding layer successively formed on a substrate and a surface of the substrate, on which surface the lower cladding layer is to be formed, has an arithmetic average roughness (Ra) of 0.03 μm or higher. The flexible optical waveguide can be produced by subjecting a surface of the substrate, on which surface the lower cladding layer is to be formed, to physical treatment with a whetstone or chemical treatment with a corona discharge and then successively forming the lower cladding layer, the core layer, and the upper cladding layer on the surface of the substrate.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.