Synthesis of photosensitive poly(methyl methacrylate-co-glycidyl methacrylate) for optical waveguide devices

Photosensitive poly(MMA-co-GMA) for optical waveguide was synthesized, and the refractive index of the polymer film was tuned in the range of 1.481-1.588 at 1550 nm by mixing with bis-phenol-A epoxy resin. The film, which was made by spinning coated the poly(MMA-co-GMA) with photo initiator, had good UV light lithograph sensitivity, high glass transition temperature (T (g) : 153A degrees C, after crosslinking) and good thermal stabilities (T (d) : up to 324A degrees C, after crosslinking). The optical waveguides with very smooth top surface were fabricated from the resulting polymer by direct UV exposure and chemical development. For waveguides with cladding, the propagation losses of the channel waveguides were measured to be below 3 dB/cm at 1550 nm.