Zhang Fei-yan,Wang Zhen-yong,Yan Cheng-en,Zhou Jun.Fabrication and characteristics of low loss and single-mode channel waveguides based on DNA-HCTAC biopolymer material[J].Optoelectronics Letters,2012,8(2):97-100 Fabrication and characteristics of low loss and single-mode channel waveguides based on DNA-HCTAC biopolymer material Author Name Affiliation Zhang Fei-yan  Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China  Wang Zhen-yong  Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China  Yan Cheng-en  Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China  Zhou Jun  Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China  Abstract:       A novel biopolymer, deoxyribonucleic acid-hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (DNA-HCTAC), is used as the core layer material in optical waveguide, and the cleanroom technology is successfully applied to fabricate the single-mode channel waveguides with low propagation loss. The prepared DNA-HCTAC material shows high optical quality at the optical telecommunication wavelengths, such as high transparency, relatively high refractive index and low birefringence. In the fabrication approach, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is used as a barrier layer to protect the DNA-HCTAC material from the corrosive of photoresist developer, and the etching conditions are optimized to form the smooth wall and sharp cross-section of the waveguide. Lastly, the optical characteristics of DNA-HCTAC channel waveguides are measured. The results show that the DNA-HCTAC waveguide operates with single-mode propagation and has a low optical loss. Hits: 4285 Download times: 580 This work has been supported by the International Collaboration Project of Ningbo (No.2010D10018), the Research and Innovation Project of Zhejiang Province (No.2011R405050), and the Research Fund of Graduate of Ningbo University (No.G11JA001). View Full Text    Download reader