A Light-Induced Self-Written optical waveguide fabricated in photopolymerizing resin and its application to a POF WDM module

摘要

Light-induced self-written (LISW) technology is a unique and simple method of forming low-loss 3-dimensional optical circuits in a photopolymer solution by using radiation from an optical fiber. This technology can be applied to all kinds of fibers. Using this technique, we have successfully fabricated and tested a plastic optical fiber (POF) WDM full-duplex communication module. The LISW waveguide enables optical components to be connected automatically, even if the circuit in the module is complex. In this paper, we demonstrate a newly developed bi-directional WDM optical module containing 3-D optical circuits and a specially designed WDM filter, and we describe its optical properties. The module employed commercially available green and red LEDs, and bi-directional communication following the IEEE 1394-S100 (125Mbps) protocol was verified with the modules through a 10m-length of POF.