Fabrication of an asymmetric Bragg coupler-based polymeric filter with a single-grating waveguide

Area of Science:

• Optoelectronics
• Materials Science
• Photonics

Background:

• Development of advanced optical filters is crucial for telecommunications and sensing.
• Polymeric waveguides offer advantages in cost-effectiveness and large-scale fabrication.
• Asymmetric Bragg couplers present a unique approach for filter design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report the first fabrication of an asymmetric Bragg coupler-based filter on polymeric waveguides.
• To demonstrate a fabrication process that avoids the need for an input-waveguide grating.
• To characterize the optical performance of the fabricated filter.

Main Methods:

• Utilized holographic interference techniques for precise pattern generation.
• Employed capillary effect, soft lithography, and micro molding for waveguide and coupler fabrication.
• Fabricated polymeric waveguides without requiring an input-waveguide grating.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated an asymmetric Bragg coupler-based filter on a polymeric waveguide platform.
• Achieved a significant transmission dip of approximately -9.2 dB.
• Obtained a narrow 3 dB transmission bandwidth of about 0.125 nm.

Conclusions:

• The developed fabrication process enables the creation of efficient asymmetric Bragg coupler filters on polymers.
• The filter demonstrates promising performance characteristics for optical filtering applications.
• This work presents a novel method for fabricating advanced photonic devices without complex grating structures.