title: Flexible thin-film polymer waveguides fabricated in an industrial roll-to-roll process.
abstract: The fabrication of flexible low-loss, thin-film, foil-based polymer waveguides with grating couplers employing a high-volume industrial roll-to-roll process is demonstrated. The embossed waveguides feature propagation losses of less than 1 dB/cm (633 nm, TE polarization), bending losses of 0.4-0.8 dB/360° for bending radii as small as 2 mm, and grating coupling efficiencies of up to 25%. In addition, the waveguides possess a thermo-optic coefficient of -1.58×10(-4) 1/°C. The fabricated waveguides are promising candidates for short-distance data communication as well as for sensing applications.
authors.affiliation: Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Donau-City-Strasse 1, 1220 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bruck
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Muellner
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kataeva
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koeck
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Trassl
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rinnerbauer
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schmidegg
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hainberger
mesh_terms: D015374:Biosensing Techniques; D004867:Equipment Design; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force / Q000379:methods; D016011:Normal Distribution; D055100:Optical Fibers; D055095:Optics and Photonics; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D012031:Refractometry; D012666:Semiconductors
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers