Inkjet printed single-mode waveguides on hot-embossed foils

We report on the fabrication of all-polymer inverted rib waveguides by hot-embossing and inkjet printing. Inkjet printing as an additive fabrication technique is well suited for a fast, selective and automated patterning of large areas. In general, the lines that can be printed with polymer inks can serve as waveguides themselves but the dimensions are too big to form single-mode waveguides. To overcome this limitation we apply hot-embossed grooves as assist structures to ensure the lateral confinement of the guided wave. We show the waveguide design, spin-coated single-mode waveguides as an intermediate result and finally inkjet printed all-polymer waveguides and their optical performance.