ICSE2004 Proc. 2004, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Fabrication of Polymeric Optical Waveguides by B-Staged Bisbenzocyclobutene(BCB)* Shee Yu Gang, Norazan Mohd Kassim, Abu Bakar Mohammad, and Mohd Haniff Ibrahim Photonic Research Group, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia. Email: vgshee~iimailcily.com, norazan(>fke.utm.my, bakar(Elke.utm.my, hanif@, fke.utm.my Abstract This paper reports the fabrication of polymeric optical waveguides. Single mode planar slab waveguides and straight waveguides had been fabricated from the organic polymer B-staged bisbenzocyclobutene (BCB) from DOW® Chemical. A low cost fabrication method, chemical etching is used to form the waveguides on BK7 glass substrates. The processing conditions required for the fabrication of single mode optical waveguides are presented. I. INTRODUCTION Optoelectronic technology and optical networking will become the key enablers of the future communications infrastructure through the elimination of the severe restrictions of bandwidth and bit-error rate inherent in traditional electromagnetic signal-based communications. The demand in optical networking for photonic components that meet performance criteria as well as economic requirements has opened the door for novel technologies capable for high yield low cost manufacturing while delivering high performance and enabling unique functions. The most promising new technologies are integrated optics. Integration permits the parallel production of complex multi-function photonic circuits on a planar substrate. Planar lightwave circuits (PLCs) based on layers of glass, polymers, or other materials deposited on a planar substrate are a low-cost manufacturing and high integration density by using well-established fabrication technologies from the silicon industry. Several inorganic materials capable of multiple functions are under intensive investigation, including lithium niobate (LiNbO3), silicon dioxide (SiO2) on silicon, and Ill-V compound semiconductors. The fabrication costs associated with these materials are very high, which seriously jeopardizes the commercialization of the end products [1]. Polymeric materials are particularly attractive in integrated optics because of their ability to be processed rapidly, cost-effectively, and with high yields. Polymeric materials are allowed to form compact optical circuits by offering large refractive index contrasts. It has attracted a lot of attention with regard to applications in the all- optical network, basically, because they have the potential of added optical functionality and because they may be producible at low cost [2- 5]. Optical polymers were engineered in many laboratories worldwide and some are available commercially. Classes of polymers used in integrated optics include acrylates, polyimides, polycarbonates and olefin (e.g., cyclobutene). Several researchers had fabricated optical devices based on polymeric materials and proved its feasibility [6-15]. In this paper, we report the fabrication process of optical waveguides by using PhotoBCB 4024-40 from The DOW Chemical Company and the processing conditions required for the fabrication of single mode optical waveguides. II. B-STAGED BISBENZOCYCLOBUTENE (BCB) FROM THE DOWS CHEMICAL CYCLOTENETm Advanced Electronics Resins from The Dow® Chemical Company are high-purity polymer solutions that have been developed for microelectronics applications [16]. The resins are derived from B-staged bisbenzocyclobutene (BCB) monomers and are 0-7803-8658-2/04/$20.00(c)2004 IEEE 522