Tuning refractive index of PDMS by CO2 laser engraving for polymer optical splitter applications

This work demonstrated the core cavity fabrication of a polymer optical power splitter by CO2 laser engraving. CO2 laser pulses radically modified the surface of PDMS by generating chemical changes. The prepared PDMS sheet was engraved with a CO2 laser at different pulse speeds to carve the surface with the desired depth and width (1.0 mm and 400 mu m) causing a chemical change introducing different functional groups on the surface of PDMS due to the oxidation of the surface during laser treatment. More importantly, the refractive index value of the pristine PDMS varied dramatically by the laser treatment. Employing NOA 74 optical adhesive as a core material on the CO2 engraved surface resulted in a polymer optical splitter with 1.0 mm and 400 mu m of core size.