Wavelength-division multiplexing and demultiplexing on locally sensitized single-mode polymer microstructure waveguides.

A four-channel wavelength-division-(de)multiplexing [WD(D)M] device, operating over optical wavelengths of 543.0 to 632.8 nm, has been successfully fabricated on newly developed locally sensitized polymer (photo-lime gelatin) microstructure waveguides (PMSW's). The WD(D)M device exhibits a cross talk of less than -40 dB between adjacent channels and a diffraction efficiency of better than 50%. The angular and spectral bandwidths for the device are ~0.2-0.4 degrees and ~4-10 nm, respectively. Such sensitivities can significantly increase the WD(D)M channel density for optical interconnect architectures. Since the PMSW device can be constructed on a variety of substrates, including insulators, semiconductors, conductors, and ceramics, the demultiplexing technique that we report is suitable for use in a variety of optical-computing, signal-processing, and communication applications.