Manufacturing techniques for forming waveguide channels and devices. A trench is formed in a cladding layer through an opening in a conductive layer. The trench is then filled with an active waveguide polymer and the conductive layer is patterned such that the active waveguide polymer may be poled. Also, a trench may be isotropically etched through a cladding layer to an underlying etch stop layer. The etch stop layer is thereafter removed from within the trench region to expose a previously formed, smooth, underlying cladding layer. Finally, a waveguide formed in a cladding layer, bounded in width by an overlying barrier layer, underlies a masking layer having a gap formed therein. Within the gap, a portion of the waveguide channel along with juxtaposing sections of the barrier layer are exposed. An etch is thereafter performed to remove the portion of the waveguide polymer in the waveguide channel bounded by both the masking layer and the barrier layer. Then an alternate type of waveguide polymer is formed in the void left behind by the etched waveguide polymer in the waveguide channel. Thus, a single waveguide channel having a plurality of waveguide polymers is formed.