New organic inorganic sol-gel material with high transparency at 1.55 μm

New sol-gel derived organic/inorganic hybrid single mode waveguides devices have been developed for telecommunication applications in the two near infrared windows at 1310 and 1550 nm. The overall fabrication procedure of these devices is described and the refractive indices of the guiding, buffer and protective layers are adjusted by the precise control of the material composition. Due to the improved composition of the guiding layer, the attenuation losses are significantly decreased to 0.5 and 1.5 dB/cm, respectively, at 1310 and 1550 nm.