Rewritable Polymer Optical Waveguide Chip Based on Photoisomerization Feature of Photosensitive Chromophore

The core layer of an optical waveguide device was fabricated by doping the photosensitive chromophore spiropyran derivative SP-Br into poly­(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). The design of the core layer allows us to precisely control the optical property of the waveguide using the photoisomerization process of SP-Br. Under UV excitation, the controllable conversion between SP-Br and the merocyanine isomer MC-Br allows dynamic and continuous changes in the refractive index, thus enabling the function of repeated writing and erasing of optical paths in the optical waveguide device. The ability to dynamically adjust the refractive index provides unprecedented flexibility in the design and fabrication of an optical waveguide device.