Flexible Optical Waveguide for Medical Implants Made with Fine Patterning

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This invention is a process for manufacturing an optical waveguide using the material combination PMMA/SU8/PMMA, enabling lateral periodic structures smaller than 50 micrometers. The resulting optical waveguide is highly mechanically flexible, allowing bending radii of less than 1 mm, and is suitable for use in medical implants.

Use CasesContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Flexible optical fibers for minimally invasive medical devices
• Implantable medical sensors that use light for diagnostics or therapy
• Flexible photonic circuits for biocompatible implants
• Wearable medical monitoring devices requiring flexible light transmission
• Smart medical implants with integrated optical communication

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Enables creation of highly flexible optical waveguides with very small bending radii
• Allows for miniaturization of medical devices using optical components
• Improves patient comfort and device integration due to flexibility
• High precision in manufacturing micro-structured optical components
• Combination of materials offers mechanical robustness and biocompatibility

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Patent Abstract

The invention relates to a method for producing an optical waveguide. The object of the invention is therefore to provide a method for producing optical waveguides based on the material combination PMMA/SU8/PMMA with which lateral periodicities of less than 50 µm are achievable. Furthermore, the optical waveguide should have high mechanical flexibility, with bending radii of less than 1 mm being possible. This object is achieved with a method comprising the following steps: - formation of a first PMMA layer to form the lower cladding layer (4) of the optical waveguide (1), - formation of a protective layer (5) on the first PMMA layer, - application of an SU8 layer on the protective layer (5), - photolithographic structuring of the SU8 layer by exposure of the regions of the SU8 layer intended for the core layer (6, 6a, 6b, 6c) of the optical waveguide (1) and subsequent removal of unexposed regions of the SU8 layer using developer liquid suitable for SU8, - formation of a second PMMA layer on surfaces of the SU8 layer and the protective layer (5) exposed after the photolithographic structuring to form the upper cladding layer (7) of the optical waveguide (1), wherein the protective layer (5) is resistant to the developer liquid and the protective layer (5) within the optical waveguide (1) is essentially optically inactive.