PHOTONIC BAND-GAP STRUCTURES ON POLYMER MATERIALS FOR MICROSTRUCTURE WAVEGUIDES AND HIGH-SPEED INTERCONNECTS

Physical Optics Corporation's R&D Division (POC R&D) proposes to demonstrate waveguide photonic band gap (PBG) structures on polymers. The complications inherent in 3-D PBG structures can be avoided by creating two-dimensional cavities in the waveguide plane. Etching, structuring, and mask-patterning techniques are currently used to create such structures. Thus, the development of PBGs at optical wavelengths is expected in the near future. Using the waveguide PBG structure to develop a channel waveguide with low loss is an obvious application. Ultra-low bending loss for sharply bent channel waveguides can be obtained and will have significant impact on waveguide-based, optical-interconnect data buses for high-speed electronic systems. The waveguide PBG can preserve the performance of existing waveguide devices (modulators, switches, polarization control devices, and coherent couplers). It can also improve existing devices by reducing loss, increasing the branching angle, and increasing grating reflectivity in waveguide spectrometers.