Dip-coated thin-film polycarbonate optical waveguides

We report on our systematic and detailed study of fabrication and characterization of polycarbonate thin-film optical waveguides. Various waveguide properties, such as refractive index, optical loss, waveguide thickness, dispersion as a function of temperature of waveguides and substrates, and the effect of thickness gradient on optical guiding losses, have been reported. A comparative study of the properties of waveguides fabricated with dioxane and tetrahydrofuran as solvents is also presented.