Polymer waveguides useful over a very wide wavelength range from the ultraviolet to infrared

We have designed and fabricated polymer waveguides using the glassy polymers Cytop™ (a fluorinated polyether), PMMA C6 poly(methyl methacrylate), and Cyclotene™ 3022-35 (bisbenzocyclobutane). Since these materials exhibit excellent transparency over a wide wavelength range, and since the refractive index difference of Cytop™ and Cyclotene™ or Cytop™ and PMMA is greater than 0.19, both Cytop™/Cyclotene™/Cytop™ and Cytop™/PMMA/Cytop™ waveguide structures can be employed over a very wide wavelength range from the ultraviolet to the infrared. Efficient waveguiding is achieved for different light sources with 390, 633, 1064, 1310, and 1550 nm wavelengths.