Method of making a waveguide and a waveguide made thereby

摘要

A method of making a waveguide, the method including depositing discrete units of optical core material in a pattern of the waveguide, and controlling the refractive index of the discrete units such that the refractive index of the waveguide varies along its length.

主权项

1. A method of making a tapered waveguide, the method comprising:
mixing two or more components of optical core material of different refractive indices to produce discrete units of optical core material having a refractive index dependent on the refractive indices of the two or more components, the proportions in which the two or more components are mixed, or a combination thereof; and depositing the discrete units of optical core material in a tapered groove of a lower cladding layer such that diffusion occurs between the discrete units to form a core of a tapered waveguide and the discrete units spread out to fill the tapered groove, the core having a refractive index dependent on the refractive indices of the discrete units and the core having a refractive index that varies along its length, the varying refractive index of the core along the tapered groove is controlled such that modal changes due to changes in the diameter of the core are negated by the change in refractive index.