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Volume: 32 | Article ID: art00075_1
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Optical waveguides fabricated by combination of ink-jet and flexographic printing
  DOI :  10.2352/ISSN.2169-4451.2017.32.294  Published OnlineSeptember 2016
Abstract

We present polymer optical waveguides on foils created by a combination of flexographic and ink-jet printing. While prior work focused on the creation of bare polymer tracks to guide light, this work looks into optical waveguides with a printed lower cladding layer, which makes the waveguide design independent from the optical properties of the foil substrate. First, the lower cladding is printed by flexographic printing on PMMA foil. Then, the sample is placed in an ink-jet printer, where the waveguide core is created. To control the wetting behaviour, temperature and oxygen plasma treatment are used, and continuous tracks are obtained. The waveguide functionality is demonstrated by guiding 785 nm laser light through a 20mm long sample.

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Patrick Bollgruen, Tim Wolfer, Uwe Gleissner, Dario Mager, Christof Megnin, Thomas Hanemann, Ludger Overmeyer, Jan Korvink, "Optical waveguides fabricated by combination of ink-jet and flexographic printingin Proc. IS&T Printing for Fabrication: Int'l Conf. on Digital Printing Technologies (NIP32),  2016,  https://doi.org/10.2352/ISSN.2169-4451.2017.32.294

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