Optical waveguides
AssigneeGEC-Marconi Limited
InventorsPaul J. Wells, David Bloor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A thin film optical waveguide made of a polymeric waveguiding film supported on a substrate, the film being made of a homopolymer of vinylpyridine or of a derivative or vinylpyridine in which the pyridine heterocyclic nucleus is substituted. Alternatively, a copolymer containing a major proportion of vinlypyridine, or of said derivative thereof, may be used in the film. A layer of a material having a lower refractive index may cover the film. The polymer may be modified to increase its capacity for refractive index variation in response to an electric field, by inclusion in the structure of the polymer of at least one optically nonlinear moiety. The polymer may also include cross-linking. The thin film optical waveguide may incorporate a laser dye in the film, for use with laser devices.
Claims16
A thin film optical waveguide, comprising a polymeric waveguiding film supported on a substrate, the film comprising a polymer selected from the group consisting of homopolymers of vinylpyridine, homopolymers of derivatives of vinylpyridine in which the pyridine heterocyclic nucleus is substituted, copolymers containing a major proportion of vinylpyridine, and copolymers containing a major proportion of a derivative of vinyl-pyridine in which the pyridine heterocyclic nucleus is substituted.
A process for producing a thin film optical waveguide, comprising depositing a polymeric waveguiding film on a substrate, depositing over the waveguiding film a second polymeric film containing a depolymerisation agent, the material of the second film and of the substrate having a lower refractive index than the waveguiding film, exposing the second film to radiation while protecting from radiation at least one area of the second film, the exposure being such as to depolymerise the second film only through a partial thickness thereof, and removing the depolymerised material to leave at least one ridge upstanding from the remainder of the second film.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.