Patent ID: 7749410

Claim:
A method of fabricating a polymer optical circuit having a waveguide core, whose one or both end portions have a specific shape, and a clad, the method comprising: structuring a mold including: a main mold made of an elastomer for mold formation, light-transmissive in at least one of the ultraviolet region and the visible region, and having a first concavity portion corresponding to a portion of the waveguide core except for the end portion with the specific shape, a second concavity portion corresponding to the end portion with the specific shape, an injection hole for injecting a photo-curable resin into the concavities, and a suction hole for suctioning-out the resin, and an auxiliary mold made of an elastomer for mold formation and having a shape corresponding to the specific shape of the end portion of the waveguide core, wherein the auxiliary mold is arranged within the second concavity portion of the main mold; firmly sticking a clad base film, which structures a portion of the clad, to a surface of the mold at a side where the concavities are formed; filling the resin into the concavities by injecting the resin into the concavities from the injection hole of the mold and suctioning the resin from the suction hole; forming the waveguide core by photo-curing the resin; removing the main mold; forming additional clad on the exposed portion of the waveguide core; and subsequently removing the auxiliary mold.