Fabrication of integrated waveguide grating in azo polymers.

In this Letter, we have introduced a technique, new to our knowledge, to fabricate gratings on a waveguide of azo-functionalized polymeric films using a slit mask and a fast, direct-writing method. To prevent the destruction of the waveguide by the grating formation on the waveguide, we placed a slit mask on the waveguide. By properly adjusting the resonance, this grating can be used as an integrated wavelength filter. We have produced an attenuation of 13.4 dB at 1562 nm with a FWHM of 3.45 nm. The grating has been fabricated as narrow as the width of the waveguide to couple filtered light into the waveguide by using a slit mask. Any light shifted from the resonance will pass through the waveguide undisturbed.