Laminated Polymer Waveguide Fan-out Device for Uncoupled Multi-Core Fiber

摘要

A compact waveguide-type fan-out device for uncoupled multi-core fibers was demonstrated using laminated polymer waveguide (LPW). The core spacing in the vertical direction was precisely controlled by spin-coating of epoxy resin cladding with accurate viscosity control, while that in the lateral direction can be determined precisely by the photo-mask. The simultaneous coupling from fan-out device to 7-core MCF was successfully demonstrated. Next, we measured the offset loss characteristics of the core of LPW and calculated the spot size of respective cores. The theoretical coupling losses evaluated from the spot size and the offset were as low as 0.2 - 7.5 dB.