Low-loss polymeric optical waveguides with large cores fabricated by hot embossing

A simple low-cost method of fabricating polymeric optical waveguides with large core sizes for plastic optical fibers is presented. The waveguides are fabricated by hot embossing with an ultraviolet-cured epoxy resin stamper. The stamper is fabricated by replication of a rectangular groove mold that is made from silicone rubber replicated from a ridged original silicon master. The master is fabricated by anisotropic etching of (110) single-crystal silicon. Optical waveguides with large core sizes of 100-500 microm have been fabricated, and a low propagation loss of 0.19 dB/cm at 650 nm was achieved.