Materials and process optimization in the reliable fabrication of polymer photonic devices

The development of organic polymers with high optical quality and high performance has led to a maturing of the polymer based photonic device field. There are two important approaches to develop reliable photonic devices. The first approach is the materials and process optimization, and the other is the reliability assurance during the fabrication and operation period. They are the well-known potential showstopper to the growth of polymer photonic devices. These critical issues needed to be addressed in order to bring commercialization of these devices closer. In this review, the issues are investigated in fabricating reliable waveguide devices, whereas the results are very useful for other applications, too.