Eu3+-Doped Planar Optical Polymer Waveguide Amplifiers

Europium (Eu3+)-doped epoxy-based negative photoresist SU8 polymer waveguide amplifiers have been fabricated and characterized optically. A simple standard photolithography fabrication process has been used, and the polymer waveguide has a root-mean-square surface roughness of similar to 0.86 nm. Optical amplification at 612-nm wavelength has been demonstrated, and a signal enhancement of 8.6 dB/cm has been obtained in a 21-mm-long device.