Direct UV-writing

Direct UV-writing is an alternative way of fabricating integrated optical planar waveguide circuits in e.g. silica-on-silicon. During a Ph.D. study and later in a STVF financed Talent-pre-project the technique has been developed to a level where basic optical devices has been fabricated with performance that matches that of conventionally fabricated devices. The technique does not need a mask for definition of waveguides and is therefore, among a number of advantages, lending itself to a fast turn-around time in component development. During 1999 a number of specific results were reported in the literature. This includes the possibility of writing waveguides that exhibit zero birefringence, which is very important for achieving components with low polarisation sensitivity. It is furthermore demonstrated that available time for writing can be increased substantially by cooling the sample and this is very important in connection with an industrial exploitation of the technique. Finally, it can be mentioned that the achievements and future possibilities have resulted in a positive response to a continuation in a 3 year STVF financed Talent-project.