Inkjet printing techniques for the fabrication of polymer optical waveguides

A great deal of attention in recent years has been given to inkjet printing as an alternative to traditional lithographic techniques due to its potential for low cost and rapid turnaround fabrication. A Dimatix DMP-2831 materials printer is used to inkjet print polymer waveguides of SU-8 negative photoresist. Several obstacles must be overcome for the technology to be feasible on a large scale including the development of capable print devices, suitable materials for printing, and the ability to consistently and precisely print high-aspect-ratio geometries. We will discuss the inkjet printing fabrication process, explore some of the difficulties encountered through the method, present several of our first prototype waveguides, and report some preliminary results on waveguide characterization.