• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.175-183
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• 2024

Research into optical signal processing using photonic integrated circuits (PICs) has been actively pursued in various fields, including optical communication, optical sensors, and quantum optics. Among the materials used in PIC fabrication, polymers have attracted significant interest due to their unique characteristics. To fabricate polymer-based PICs, establishing an accurate manufacturing process for the cross-sectional structure of an optical waveguide is crucial. For stable device performance and high yield in mass production, a process with high reproducibility and a wide tolerance for variation is necessary. This study proposes an efficient method for fabricating polymer optical-waveguide devices by introducing the atomic layer deposition (ALD) process. Compared to conventional photoresist or metal-film deposition methods, the ALD process enables more precise fabrication of the optical waveguide's core structure. Polyimide optical waveguides with a core size of 1.8 × 1.6 ㎛² are fabricated using the ALD process, and their propagation losses are measured. Additionally, a multimode interference (MMI) optical-waveguide power-splitter device is fabricated and characterized. Throughout the fabrication, no cracking issues are observed in the etching-mask layer, the vertical profiles of the waveguide patterns are excellent, and the propagation loss is below 1.5 dB/cm. These results confirm that the ALD process is a suitable method for the mass production of high-quality polymer photonic devices.