Property-tailorable PFCB-containing polymers for wavelength division devices

This paper demonstrates the application of property-tailorable perfluorocyclobutyl (PFCB) polymers to the fabrication of arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG) devices for use in wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) optical networks. This novel series of PFCB polymers exhibits low optical attenuation, high thermal stability, and tailorable refractive index, facilitating the design of high-performance photonic devices. The design, fabrication, and characterization of AWGs are reported in this paper. The fabricated devices show high thermal stability and low on-chip losses. Optimization of devices through the tailoring of material properties and fabrication process parameters is discussed. The successful fabrication of AWG highlights the potential of this material for other devices in photonic applications