3D-printed core-cladding waveguides and adiabatic splitters for integrated photonic circuits

Additive manufacturing by two-photon polymerization offers the possibility to directly print free-form efficient optical interconnects for integrated photonic systems. Core-cladding 3D-laser printed structures are nowadays the subject of intense study due to its ability to propagate, couple and manipulate single-mode light. Basic photonic tools like single-mode low-loss waveguides [1] or multimode light splitters [2] have recently been demonstrated. However, current fabrication technologies imply multiple processing steps and frequently require utilizing different materials for a waveguide’s core and cladding, which significantly increases process complexity.