OPTICAL DEVICE WITH CHANNEL WAVEGUIDE STRUCTURE AND METHOD OF FABRICATING

摘要

The present invention prefers to an optical device with a channel waveguide structure as well as a method of fabrication. A thin waveguide layer (2) of a fluoride glass, in particular a Zirkonium fluoride glass, especially ZBLAN, is applied on a substrate (1) and structured to form waveguide channels (7) by pressing a stamp (3) onto said layer (2). The stamp (3) is designed having cutting edges (4) formed according to desired contours of channels (7) of the waveguide structure and providing free space for displacement of material of the waveguide layer (2). The stamp (3) and/or the waveguide layer (2) are preheated to a temperature allowing the displacement of the material of the waveguide layer (2) by the cutting edges (4). The invention allows a fast and cheep production of a channel waveguide structure.