Optical properties of acrylate-based negative-type photoresist and its application to optical waveguide fabrication

In this article, we present some of the optical properties of a polymeric acrylate-based photoresist material called PNME, by its principal components, which are pentaerythritol triacrylate, n-methyldiethanolamine, and eosin. The refractive index and absorption spectra were measured. Because of the low absorption of PNME in the datacom and telecom regions, PNME was studied with respect to its suitability for the fabrication of a channel waveguide and/or an optical fiber. A multimode optical waveguide was fabricated using a cold UV stamping fabrication method, and propagation losses at 1.3 mum were measured. An optical fiber core was fabricated using a light-induced self-writing fabrication method. In our study, it was found that optical waveguides made from PNME have low propagation losses due to smooth sidewalls and the low absorption of PNME. An optical waveguide with a corrugated core was also fabricated.