Development of high-density single-mode polymer waveguides with low crosstalk for chip-to-chip optical interconnection.

High-density single-mode polymer waveguides were fabricated for chip-to-chip optical interconnection. The waveguides were designed as minimized mode field diameters for the lowest inter-channel crosstalk caused by mode coupling. The optimum relative index difference chosen was 1.2% to ensure compatibility with low crosstalk and wide fabrication tolerances. The 60-mm-length linear waveguides demonstrated a low propagation loss of 0.6 dB/cm and -45 dB crosstalk at 1310 nm. Also, a new crosstalk mechanism for a curved waveguide was revealed.