Patent ID: 6832036
Filing Date: 2004-12-14
Classification: G02B

Abstract:
An optical waveguide structure comprising a light-transmitting core material having a first refractive index, and a cladding material contacting and partially or entirely surrounding said core material, wherein said cladding material has a second refractive index lower than said first refractive index of said core material, and wherein said core material is a siloxane resin composition comprising:(A) from about 95 to about 100 parts by weight of a siloxane polymer comprising structural units having the formulae X and Y: and terminating in residues OR8 and R8, wherein(1) FG is a functional group, and each FG in said polymer is independently chosen from (a) linear, branched, and cyclic alkyl residues of 1 to 20 carbons terminating in a 1-alkenyl ether; (b) linear, branched, and cyclic alkyl ether residues of 1 to 20 carbons and 1 to 9 oxygens terminating in a 1-alkenyl ether; (c) linear, branched, and cyclic alkyl residues of 1 to 20 carbons terminating in an acrylate, an alpha-chloroacrylate, an alpha-cyanoacrylate, or a methacrylate; (d) linear, branched, and cyclic alkyl ether residues of 1 to 20 carbons and 1 to 9 oxygens terminating in an acrylate, an alpha-chloroacrylate, an alpha-cyanoacrylate, or a methacrylate; (e) linear, branched, and cyclic alkyl residues of 1 to 20 carbons substituted with an epoxide; (f) linear, branched, and cyclic alkyl ether residues of 1 to 20 carbons and 1 to 9 oxygens substituted with an epoxide; (g) arylalkyl residues of 1 to 20 carbons substituted with an epoxide; (h) arylalkyl ether residues of 1 to 20 carbons and 1 to 9 oxygens substituted with an epoxide; and (i) epoxy-functional organosiloxane residues of 1 to 20 silicons and 1 to 20 carbons; (2) R is alkyl, aryl, haloalkyl, or aralkyl of 1 to 10 carbons; (3) R1 is R, (4) R2 is alkyl, aryl, haloalkyl or aralkyl of 1 to 10 carbons or (5) R3 and R4 are independently alkyl, aryl, haloalkyl, aralkyl, alkoxy or aryloxy of 1 to 10 carbons; (6) R5, R6 and R7 are independently FG, alkyl, aryl, haloalkyl, aralkyl, alkoxy or aryloxy of 1 to 10 carbons; (7) R8 is alkyl, aryl, haloalkyl, or aralkyl of 1 to 10 carbons; (8) m and n are each independently 2 to 50; (9) p is 2 to 50; and (10) q is 0 to 50; and (B) from 0 to about 5 parts by weight of a polymerization initiator selected from the group consisting of free radical initiators and cationic initiators selected from the group consisting of diazonium, sulfonium, phosphonium, and iodonium salts, wherein said selected cationic initiator is present in a catalyst solution comprising from about 20 to about 60 parts by weight of the selected cationic initiator and from about 40 to about 80 parts by weight of 3,4-epoxycyclohexylmethyl-3â€²,4â€²-epoxycyclohexane carboxylate, dicyclopentadiene dioxide, or bis(3,4-epoxycyclohexyl) adipate.