JP2006003622A - Manufacturing method of optical device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method of an optical device by which the optical device with high shape precision can be continuously manufactured at a low cost by a simple process. <P>SOLUTION: In the manufacturing method of the optical device containing a lower cladding layer 1 and a core layer 2, when the core layer 2 is formed on the lower cladding layer 1 by using a photosetting material, the core layer 2 in a gravure printing plate 11 is irradiated with light while printing the core layer 2 on the lower cladding layer 1 by the gravure printing plate 11. Light irradiation to the core layer 2 can be suitably carried out via the lower cladding layer 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical device manufacturing method, and more particularly, to an optical device manufacturing method capable of continuously producing various optical devices such as optical waveguides by a simple process.

  With the recent development of optical communication technology, development of a high-performance optical device is desired as a basic element constituting optical communication components such as an optical switch and an optical multiplexer / demultiplexer. Among these, a waveguide-type optical device, so-called optical waveguide, generally has a basic structure in which a core layer and an upper cladding layer are sequentially formed on a substrate directly or via a lower cladding layer. As a material for the core layer, inorganic materials such as quartz glass are mainly used as in the case of optical fibers because of its advantages such as low light propagation loss. Recently, however, it is excellent in workability and cost. Studies have been conducted on polymer optical waveguides (film waveguides) using organic materials such as synthetic resins.

  As a method for manufacturing such an optical waveguide, a method of patterning a core layer using photolithography, reactive ion etching (RIE), or the like is common (for example, described in Patent Documents 1 and 2). That is, as shown in FIG. 3, first, (a) a core layer 102 is applied and formed on a substrate 101, (b) a mask layer 103 is formed thereon, and (c) a desired core layer is formed by photolithography. Pattern into shape. Further, (d) the core layer 102 is processed by RIE using this mask layer 103, and (e) the mask layer 103 is finally removed, whereby the core layer 102 having a desired shape can be obtained.

  However, the conventional method using photolithography requires a coating process using a spin coating method, a developing process, and the like, and thus has a difficulty in that continuous production cannot be performed. In addition, the pattern formation by photolithography involves an etching process using a resist material, so the shape accuracy of the side surface of the core layer tends to deteriorate, and it is difficult to obtain the shape as designed, and the viewpoint of reducing transmission loss (B) corresponding to the design shape (cross section), (c) shape (cross section) by photolithography).

On the other hand, as a manufacturing technique that does not use photolithography, for example, Patent Document 3 discloses that an organic material having a predetermined viscosity is obtained in a desired amount by an inkjet method in order to easily obtain an optical waveguide by a highly productive manufacturing method. An optical waveguide manufacturing method for forming a core layer by jetting is described. Further, in Patent Document 4, for the purpose of providing high-dimensional precision optical circuit components at low cost in mass production, ink having predetermined characteristics is used, and patterns of optical circuit components are printed on a substrate by various printing methods. Describes an optical circuit component manufacturing method in which an optical circuit component is formed by direct drawing and post-curing. Further, in Patent Document 5, in forming the core and the clad on the substrate surface, the ultraviolet curable optical waveguide material filled in the concave portion on the concave plate surface is transferred to the surface of the blanket and the polymer optical waveguide material is irradiated with ultraviolet rays. Is described, and a method for producing a polymer optical waveguide is described in which an optical wiring is formed by transferring the polymer optical waveguide material from a blanket to a substrate surface.
JP-A-6-347658 (paragraphs [0010] to [0012] etc.) JP-A-8-304650 (paragraph [0009] etc.) JP2003-329867A (Claims etc.) JP 2003-202444 A (Claims etc.) JP 2003-195078 A (Claims etc.)

  In recent years, the need for inexpensive optical circuit components for consumer use has increased due to the rapid trend toward broadbandization of the Internet accompanying the spread of FTTH (Fiber To The Home) and the like. For this purpose, it is an urgent task to establish a new optical device manufacturing technology that solves the above-mentioned problems such as manufacturing processes and costs.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an optical device manufacturing method capable of solving the above-described problems of the prior art and continuously producing low-cost and high-precision optical devices by a simple process. is there.

  As a result of intensive studies, the present inventors have found that the above-mentioned problems can be solved by using a photocuring material as a material of the core layer and applying a gravure printing method as a forming method thereof, and have completed the present invention. It was.

That is, the optical device manufacturing method of the present invention is an optical device manufacturing method including a lower cladding layer and a core layer.
In forming the core layer on the lower clad layer using a photo-curing material, the core layer is printed on the lower clad layer with a gravure printing plate, while the core layer in the gravure printing plate is formed. It is characterized by irradiating light.

In the present invention, by performing light irradiation on the core layer through the lower cladding layer, printing of the core layer and light irradiation can be performed simultaneously. Further, as the core layer printing coating material, it is preferable to use a coating material having a viscosity of 10 to 20000 mPa · s which does not substantially contain a solvent, and has a curing shrinkage ratio of 1 when irradiated with light having an integrated light quantity of 1000 mJ / cm ^2. It is also preferable to use a paint that is 10%. Furthermore, in forming the upper clad layer in the present invention, a method of bonding an upper clad layer having a viscosity of 10 ² Pa · s to 10 ⁷ Pa · s on the core layer formed on the lower clad layer. Can be used.

  According to the present invention, the configuration described above enables continuous production of optical devices that were impossible with the conventional method using RIE or photolithography. In addition, since the manufacturing method of the present invention can be performed by a simple process, an inexpensive optical device having high shape accuracy can be manufactured without using an expensive apparatus.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is a method of manufacturing an optical device including a lower cladding layer and a core layer, and is a technique related to an improvement of a process of forming a core layer on the lower cladding layer.

  In FIG. 1, the schematic explanatory drawing of the formation process of the core layer which concerns on one suitable embodiment of this invention is shown. As shown in the drawing, in the present invention, when forming the core layer 2 on the lower clad layer 1 using a photocurable material, while printing the core layer 2 on the lower clad layer 1 with the gravure printing plate 11, The core layer 2 in the gravure printing plate 11 is irradiated with light. That is, by performing light irradiation in parallel with printing, the core layer 2 can be cured in the concave portion 14 of the gravure printing plate 11, preventing the occurrence of shape distortion of the core layer 2 after printing, Compared with the method using photolithography, the core layer 2 having extremely good shape accuracy can be obtained. Although it may be possible to cure the core layer 2 by irradiating light immediately after leaving the printing plate, the core layer printing paint 30 is in a liquid state, and in this case, deformation such as curling of the edge portion is caused. It is considered that the generation of shape distortion cannot be completely prevented.

  The gravure printing method according to the present invention is a kind of intaglio printing method, in which a printing plate is immersed in ink to fill the concave portion of the surface with ink, and the ink adhered to other than the concave portion is scraped off by a doctor blade, The ink is transferred onto the substrate. In general gravure printing, printing is performed while a printing material is passed between a roll and a printing plate while pressing the printing material against the printing plate by a roll. In the present invention, light irradiation is performed in parallel with printing. A printing apparatus having a configuration as shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the lower clad layer 1 formed on the base material 10A is configured to print the core layer 2 on the lower clad layer 1 while being pressed against the gravure printing plate 11 via two rolls 12. Thus, light irradiation from the light source 20 can be performed in parallel with the printing of the core layer 2.

  In this case, the light irradiation to the core layer 2 is performed through the lower cladding layer 1 and the base material 10A in the illustrated example. Therefore, the base material 10 </ b> A and the lower clad layer 1 are required to have high transparency with respect to the light used for curing the core layer 2.

  In the present invention, from the viewpoint of easily and reliably curing the core layer 2 in the printing plate, it is preferable that the core layer printing coating material 30 does not substantially contain a solvent. The viscosity of the coating is preferably about 10 to 20000 mPa · s. If the viscosity is too high, the coating 30 for core layer printing does not easily penetrate into the groove of the gravure printing plate 11, and the scraping property by the doctor blade 13 is reduced. On the other hand, if the viscosity is too low, the optimum amount of printing cannot be performed, and in any case, blurring and streaks occur during printing, resulting in deterioration of print quality, that is, line width accuracy, etc. This causes problems such as an increase in scattering loss and circuit disconnection. Accordingly, the core layer 2 can be printed with good shape accuracy by setting the viscosity within the above range, preferably about 50 to 2000 mPa · s.

Furthermore, as the core layer printing coating material 30, it is preferable to use a coating material having a curing shrinkage rate of 1 to 10% when irradiated with light having an integrated light quantity of 1000 mJ / cm ² . When the curing shrinkage is less than 1%, peeling from the printing plate is poor, whereas when it is too high, shape transferability is poor. More preferably, the curing shrinkage rate is 2 to 7%. The cure shrinkage ratio decreases as the molecular weight / functional group number decreases in monomer units. In the case of a mixture, the cure shrinkage ratio is close to the value obtained by adding the volume fractions (or weight fractions) of the respective shrinkage ratios. Actual measurement can be performed by measuring the specific gravity before and after curing, calculating the volume, and determining the curing shrinkage based on the specific gravity method of JIS standard.

  Speaking of the relationship between the viscosity of the paint and the curing shrinkage rate, generally, there is a correlation between the uncured viscosity, the curing shrinkage rate, and the polymerization density (hardness). Often uses a monomer having a low molecular weight, and tends to increase the cure shrinkage rate.On the other hand, when trying to increase the hardness, a monomer having a large number of functional groups is often used. , The curing shrinkage tends to be high. Therefore, in the present invention, it is necessary to determine each parameter under these balances.

An optical device can be obtained by forming the core layer 2 on the lower clad layer 1 as described above and then forming the upper clad layer 3 on the core layer 2. FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a preferred example of the process of forming the upper cladding layer according to the present invention. As shown in the drawing, in the present invention, a method of further bonding an upper clad layer 3 on a core layer 2 formed on a lower clad layer 1 can be suitably used. In the illustrated example, the base material 10A on which the lower clad layer 1 and the core layer 2 are formed and the base material 10B on which the upper clad layer 3 is formed are respectively run through rolls 12, and finally the roll. The two are bonded together by pressing each other. Therefore, the upper clad layer 3 needs to be formed in advance on the base material 10B, but if the upper clad layer 3 is completely cured, it can be bonded to the lower clad layer 1 and the core layer 2. Can not. Therefore, in order to reliably perform the bonding, the viscosity at the time of bonding of 10 ² Pa · s or more and 10 ⁷ Pa · s at least in the portion 3b near the surface of the upper clad layer 3 is about the thickness of the core layer 2. It is preferable to be about the following.

  The manufacturing method of the present invention can be continuously performed by a roll-to-roll method by using a method as shown in FIGS. In addition, the above method can stably obtain a core layer having excellent shape accuracy even in repeated printing, and as a result, high-quality optical devices can be mass-produced at low cost. In particular, in the present invention, since the core layer can be formed finely and with excellent print quality at a depth of 30 to 200 μm, the present invention can be suitably applied to, for example, the manufacture of multimode optical waveguides and the like. It is.

  In the production method of the present invention, specific procedures other than the core layer forming step and the bonding step described above, materials used, and the like may be appropriately selected according to a conventional method, and are not particularly limited. However, it can be performed as follows, for example.

  The application of the lower clad layer 1 on the base material 10A can be performed by appropriately using a conventional coating method such as a comma coating method or a micro gravure method, and is not particularly limited. Further, the application of the upper clad layer 3 onto the base material 10B can be performed in the same manner, and then each clad layer can be formed on the base material by curing with heat or light. . Further, after the core layer 2 is formed and the lower clad layer 1 and the core layer 2 and the upper clad layer 3 are bonded together, the uncured upper clad layer 3 is cured by heat or light, so that An optical device including the cladding layer 1, the core layer 2, and the upper cladding layer 3 in this order can be manufactured.

  The material of the lower clad layer 1 and the upper clad layer 3 is not particularly limited and can be appropriately selected from conventionally used materials and has flexibility such as plastic and elastomer. A material that can be molded into a desired shape and has a lower refractive index than the core layer 2 can be used. From the viewpoint of reducing transmission loss, the lower cladding layer 1 and the upper cladding layer 3 are preferably formed of the same material.

  Specifically, for example, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyamide, polystyrene, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) resin, polymethyl methacrylate, polycarbonate, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polyvinyl acetate, polyethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, Polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene-polyvinyl alcohol copolymer, fluororesin, silicone resin, natural rubber, polyisoprene rubber, polybutadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene copolymer, butyl rubber, halogenated butyl rubber, chloroprene rubber, acrylic rubber, ethylene-propylene- Examples thereof include diene terpolymer (EPDM), acrylonitrile-butadiene copolymer, fluororubber, and silicone rubber.

  Among these, silicone polymers and fluorine polymers having a low refractive index are particularly preferable. Specifically, silicone polymers such as polydimethylsiloxane polymer, polymethylphenylsiloxane polymer, fluorosilicone polymer, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), Tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene copolymer (FEP), tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkoxyethylene copolymer (PFE), polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE), tetrafluoroethylene-ethylene copolymer (ETFE), polyvinylidene fluoride, polyvinyl fluoride, vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene chloride copolymer, vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene copolymer, vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene-tetrafluoride ethylene Terpolymer, tetrafluoroethylene-propylene rubbers, and fluorine-based thermoplastic elastomers. These materials can be used alone or in admixture of two or more.

  Further, as a material for the core layer 2, specifically, for example, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) having excellent transparency is known, and in recent years, acrylic, epoxy, polysilane, or polyimide resins are known. Deuteration and fluorination are performed based on materials. The resin material obtained thereby has low absorption with respect to light in the wavelength region of 1.3 μm or more and 1.55 μm or less. Therefore, a low-loss optical device is formed using these materials. be able to. In particular, the core layer 2 according to the present invention is formed of a photo-curing material that does not substantially contain a solvent, as described above. A photo-curing material is a varnish-like resin that is reactively cured by irradiation with light (ultraviolet rays (UV)). The thing comprised from an initiator is mentioned.

  As the UV prepolymer, for example, epoxy acrylate, aliphatic cyclic epoxy resin, bisphenol type epoxy resin, brominated epoxy resin, urethane acrylate, polyester acrylate, polyether acrylate, polyol acrylate, alkyd acrylate and the like can be used. As the UV monomer, for example, an acrylic monomer such as a monofunctional acrylate, a bifunctional acrylate, a trifunctional acrylate, and a tetrafunctional acrylate can be used. Examples of the photopolymerization initiator include benzoin-based, acetophenone-based, peroxide-based, thioxanthone-based, aromatic diazonium salts such as p-methoxybenzenediazonium hexafluorophosphate, and aromatic sulfonium salts such as triphenylsulfonium hexafluorophosphate. Can be mentioned.

  In addition, monomers having various functional groups can also be used, such as acrylic esters, vinyl ethers having epoxy groups, allyl ethers, vinyl ethers or β-ketoester group-containing vinyl ethers or allyl ethers such as allyl acetoacetate, Furthermore, the vinyl ether containing silicon which has hydrolyzable groups, such as a trimethoxy vinyl ether, can also be mentioned.

  Specific examples of the acrylate esters include methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, isobutyl acrylate, tert-butyl acrylate, cyclohexyl acrylate, ethyl hexyl acrylate, and acrylic acid-n-. Octyl, isooctyl acrylate, nonyl acrylate, tridecyl acrylate, lauryl acrylate, benzyl acrylate, isobornyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate, butyl methacrylate, isobutyl methacrylate, tert-butyl methacrylate, methacryl Cyclohexyl acid, ethyl hexyl methacrylate, -n-octyl methacrylate, isooctyl methacrylate, nonyl methacrylate, tridecyl methacrylate, lauryl methacrylate, benzyl methacrylate Such as isobornyl methacrylate, and the like.

  Examples of compounds containing an epoxy ring include 3,4-epoxycyclohexylmethyl-3,4-epoxycyclohexanecarboxylate, 3,4-epoxycyclohexylethyl-8,4-epoxycyclohexanecarboxylate, vinylcyclohexene dioxide, allyl Cyclohexene dioxide, 8,4-epoxy-4-methylcyclohexyl-2-propylene oxide, 2- (3,4-epoxycyclohexyl-5,5-spiro-3,4-epoxy) cyclohexane-m-dioxane, bis ( 3,4-epoxycyclohexyl) adipate, bis (3,4-epoxycyclohexylmethyl) adipate, bis (3,4-epoxycyclohexyl) ether, bis (3,4-epoxycyclohexylmethyl) ether, bis (3,4- Poxycyclohexyl) aliphatic cyclic epoxy compounds such as diethylsiloxane, polybutadiene diglycidyl ether, poly-1,4- (2,3-epoxybutane) -CO-1,2- (8,4-epoxy) -CO-1 , 4-butadienediol, neopentyl glycol diglycidyl ether, 1,6-hexanediol diglycidyl ether, polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether, polypropylene glycol diglycidyl ether, dibromoneopentyl glycol diglycidyl ether, o-phthalic acid glycidyl ester, Trimethylolpropane polyglycidyl ether, diglycerol polyglycidyl ether, polyglycerol polyglycidyl ether, sorbitol polyglycidyl ether, allyl glycidyl ether 2-ethylhexyl glycidyl ether, phenyl glycidyl ether, phenol penta (oxyethylene) glycidyl ether, p-tert-butylphenyl glycidyl ether, dibromophenyl glycidyl ether, lauryl alcohol pentadeca (oxyethylene) glycidyl ether, sorbitan polyglycidyl Ether, pentaerythritol polyglycidyl ether, triglycidyl tris (2-hydroxyethyl) isocyanurate, resorcin diglycidyl ether, polytetramethylene glycol diglycidyl ether, adipic acid diglycidyl ester, hydroquinone diglycidyl ether, bisphenol S diglycidyl ether, Diglycidyl terephthalate, glycidyl phthalimide, dibromoph Phenyl glycidyl ether, dibromoneopentyl glycol diglycidyl ether, cetyl glycidyl ether, stearyl glycidyl ether, p-octylphenyl glycidyl ether, p-phenylphenyl glycidyl ether, glycidyl benzoate, glycidyl acetate, glycidyl butyrate, spiroglycol diglycidyl ether, Reduced maltose polyglycidyl ether, bisphenol A diglycidyl ether, hydrogenated bisphenol A diglycidyl ether, bisphenol F diglycidyl ether, bisphenol G diglycidyl ether, tetramethylbisphenol A diglycidyl ether, bisphenol hexafluoroacetone diglycidyl ether, bisphenol C Diglycidyl ether 1,3 Bis (1- (2,3-epoxypropoxy) -1-trifluoromethyl-2,2,2-trifluoroethyl) benzene, 1,4-bis (1- (2,3-epoxypropoxy) -1 -Trifluoromethyl-2,2,2-trifluoroethyl) benzene, 4,4'-bis (2,3-epoxypropoxy) octafluorobiphenyl, tetraglycidyl-m-xylylenediamine, tetraglycidyldiaminodiphenylmethane, tri Glycidyl-paraaminophenol, triglycidyl-metaaminophenol, diglycidylaniline, diglycidyltribromoaniline, tetraglycidylbisaminomethylcyclohexane, tetrafluoropropylglycidyl ether, octafluoropentylglycidyl ether, dodecafluorooctyldi Glycidyl ether, styrene oxide, limonene diepoxide, limonene monoxide, alpha-pinene epoxide, epoxy compounds such as β- pinene epoxide and the like.

  As described above, the base material 10 can be a material having high transparency with respect to the light (ultraviolet light) to be used, and can be used if it has a transmittance of approximately 30% or more. Specifically, a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film, an acrylic resin film, a polycarbonate (PC) film, a triacetyl cellulose (TAC) film, a polyimide (PI) film, or the like can be used.

  In addition, as a solvent used for preparation of the coating solution of each said layer, it does not restrict | limit in particular, For example, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), ethyl acetate, cellosolve, dioxane, tetrahydrofuran (THF), benzene, cyclohexanone, etc. The conventional organic solvent can be appropriately selected and used.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described specifically by way of examples.
Example (Composition of lower clad layer 1 and upper clad layer 3)
Binder resin:
Acrylic resin (manufactured by Soken Chemical Co., Ltd., trade name Foret M-80) 100 parts by weight UV prepolymer:
Novolac resin (trade name EAM-2160, manufactured by Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd.) 100 parts by weight UV monomer:
Fluoroalkyl acrylate (Osaka Organic Chemical Co., Ltd., trade name Biscote 4F)
30 parts by weight ethyl carbitol tetraacrylate 20 parts by weight pentaerythritol tetraacrylate 15 parts by weight Photopolymerization initiator:
Acylphosphine oxide 1 part by weight 1-hydroxycyclohexyl phenyl ketone 0.8 part by weight

The above blending materials were mixed well and a solvent was added as appropriate to prepare a coating for printing the lower clad layer. This paint was applied on a 188 μm-thick PET film (product name: O310, manufactured by Mitsubishi Polyester Co., Ltd.) as a base material 10A by a comma coating method, dried at 100 ° C. for 2 minutes, and an irradiation intensity of 500 mW / cm. UV irradiation was performed at ² to form a lower cladding layer 1 having a refractive index of 1.502.

(Composition of core layer 2)
UV prepolymer:
Bisphenol A acrylate (Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd .: EX-2320)
100 parts by weight UV monomer:
Acryloylmorpholine 20 parts by weight 1-adamantyl methacrylate 30 parts by weight Ethoxylated bisphenol A diacrylate (manufactured by Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd., trade name SR-602)
20 parts by weight photopolymerization initiator:
Acylphosphine oxide 1 part by weight 1-hydroxycyclohexyl phenyl ketone 0.8 part by weight

The above blended materials were thoroughly mixed to prepare a core layer printing paint having a viscosity of 500 mPa · s and a curing shrinkage of 6% (when irradiated with light having an integrated light quantity of 1000 mJ / cm ² ). In the printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1, UV irradiation is performed at an irradiation intensity of 500 mW / cm ² while performing gravure printing on the lower cladding layer 1 formed on the base material 10A using this paint, and the refractive index is 1. 529 core layer 2 was formed. The printing line speed was 10 m / min, the roll diameter of the gravure printing plate 11 was 200 mm, the recess 14 was 60 μm deep and 60 μm wide.

Further, in the same manner as in the case of the lower clad layer, an upper clad layer printing paint is applied on a 188 μm-thick PET film (product name O310, manufactured by Mitsubishi Polyester Co., Ltd.) as the base material 10B and dried. Thus, the upper clad layer 3 was formed. When the viscosity of the dried upper clad layer 3 was measured with a viscoelasticity measuring apparatus (manufactured by HAAKE, measurement conditions: f = 1 Hz, γ = 1%), it was 1000 Pa · s. Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the lower clad layer 1 and the core layer 2 formed on the base material 10A were bonded. After bonding, UV irradiation was performed at an irradiation intensity of 500 mW / cm ² to form the upper clad layer 3 having a refractive index of 1.502 to obtain an optical waveguide.
When the line width and height of the printed pattern of the core layer 2 were observed with an electron microscope, the printing accuracy was 4 μm.

It is a schematic explanatory drawing of the formation process of the core layer which concerns on one suitable embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic explanatory drawing of a suitable example of the formation process of the upper clad layer which concerns on this invention. (A)-(e) is a manufacturing-process figure which shows an example of the manufacturing method of the conventional optical waveguide. (A) is sectional drawing which shows a design shape (cross section), (b), (c) is the shape (cross section) by photolithography, respectively.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lower clad layer 2 Core layer 3 Upper clad layer 10A, 10B Base material 11 Gravure printing plate 12 Roll 13 Doctor blade 14 Recess 20 Light source 30 Core layer printing paint

Claims (5)

In a method for manufacturing an optical device including a lower cladding layer and a core layer,
In forming the core layer on the lower clad layer using a photo-curing material, the core layer is printed on the lower clad layer with a gravure printing plate, while the core layer in the gravure printing plate is formed. A method for producing an optical device, characterized by irradiating light.   The method of manufacturing an optical device according to claim 1, wherein the light irradiation to the core layer is performed through the lower cladding layer.   The method for producing an optical device according to claim 1, wherein a paint having a viscosity of 10 to 20000 mPa · s substantially free of a solvent is used as the core layer printing paint. The optical device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a coating material having a curing shrinkage rate of 1 to 10% when irradiated with light having an integrated light quantity of 1000 mJ / cm ² is used as the core layer printing coating material. Production method. The upper clad layer having a viscosity of 10 ² Pa · s to 10 ⁷ Pa · s is further bonded onto the core layer formed on the lower clad layer. Manufacturing method of optical device.

Images