Ultraviolet light imprinted sol-gel silica glass waveguide devices on silicon

We describe a new simplified process for inexpensive fabrication of low-loss (0.1 dB/cm) glass waveguides on silicon by ultraviolet light imprinting in photosensitive, organically modified sol-gel silica glass films prepared by one-step dip-coating process. The fabrication process is appealing because the buffer layer between waveguide and substrate is eliminated, and waveguides can be made in a few steps using low-cost equipment. Also, a 1 x 8 power splitter is produced by this process. The splitter exhibits relatively uniform output and a configuration loss of 0.9 dB at 1.55 mu m wavelength.