Direct Write of Novel Optical Components

最近对信息带宽的需求增加，因此需要改进目前的数据、语音和视频传输技术。为了满足这一需求，电信业越来越重视光纤网络的发展。创建这一基础设施的一个关键是生产经济的光纤组件，如光波导和布拉格光栅。目前光学元件和光纤预制棒的制造技术仅限于气相沉积技术和光刻工艺。这项研究旨在通过创新的直写工艺来推动光学元件制造领域的发展。我们的目标是开发一种基于激光烧结的新制造工艺，该工艺基于溶胶-凝胶加工技术生产的材料。研究任务包括：(1)表征Sol-Gel的化学和工艺；(2)设计、建造和测试用于多层光学元件的联合Sol-Gel制备和激光致密的工作站；(3)为该工作站开发实时控制器；以及(4)制作三维光学元件以演示该过程。我们期待在独特的溶胶-凝胶材料和化学、溶胶-凝胶工艺的重复性、材料表征、光学性能控制模型、溶胶-凝胶沉积和致密化的机械设计以及微米和亚微米材料的激光加工方法等领域取得基础科学成果。我们还期待可重复的直写工艺和示例3D光学组件的整体交付。与行业合作伙伴3M公司的合作将提供对行业需求和能力的基本了解，从而带来更大的未来商业化潜力。这些独特的研究经验将为研究生和本科生在系统设计工程和光学产品实现方面提供直接的教育益处。我们相信，我们的方法将导致创新的光学元件设计，这是目前的气相沉积技术无法生产的。这些组件将提供更高的性能，使电信业更好地满足社会需求。

The recent increase in demand for information bandwidth has created the need for improving current technologies for data, voice and video transmission. The telecommunications industry has increasingly emphasized the development of fiberoptic networks to meet this demand. One key to creating this infrastructure is the production of economical fiberoptic components, such as wave guides and Bragg gratings. Current manufacturing techniques for optical components and fiber preforms are limited to vapor deposition techniques and photolithographic processes. This research is to advance the field of optical component manufacturing through innovative direct-write processing. Our goal is to develop a novel manufacturing process based on laser sintering of materials produced from sol-gel processing techniques. Research tasks include: (1) characterizating the chemistry and processing of sol-gels; (2) design, construction, and testing of a workstation for combined sol-gel preparation and laser densification of multi-layer optical components; (3) developing a real time controller for the workstation; and (4) fabricating three-dimensional optical components to demonstrate the process. We expect fundamental science-based results in the areas of unique sol-gel materials and chemistry, repeatability of sol-gel processing, materials characterization, models for optical property control, machine design of sol-gel deposition and densification, and laser processing methods for micron and sub-micron materials. We also expect overall deliverables of a repeatable direct-write process and example 3D optical components. Collaboration with an industrial partner, 3M Corporation, will provide fundamental understanding of the industry needs and capabilities, leading to a higher potential for future commercialization. These unique research experiences will provide direct educational benefits to both graduate and undergraduate students in systems design engineering and optical product realization.We believe our approach will lead to innovative optical component designs, not producible by current vapor deposition techniques. These components will provide higher performance and enable the telecommunications industry to better meet the needs of society.