Silica (SiO_(2)) optical waveguides have been fabricated on the surface of silicone [(SiO(CH_(3))_(2))_(n)] rubber by photochemical modification of silicone rubber into silica with 157 nm F_(2)-laser radiation. The 2 mm thick silicone was exposed through a thin (approx0.2 mm) air layer to generate oxygen radicals that chemically assisted in the silica transformation. Silica waveguides were defined in 8-16 (mu)m wide exposure strips by a proximity Cr-on-CaF_(2) photomask. Optimum laser processing conditions are presented for generating crackfree waveguides with good optical transparency at red (635 nm) and infrared (1550 nm) wavelengths. A propagation loss of approx6 dB/cm is reported at the 1550 nm wavelength.
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