SBIR Phase I: Extrusion Manufacturing Process for Ultrahigh Bandwidth, Low Attenuation Graded-Index Polymer Optical Fibers

该小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目将致力于通过低成本连续挤出工艺生产低衰减、超高带宽的全氟化聚合物光纤(POF)的可行性。目前，在医院系统、教育机构、国防和安全系统以及工业控制等应用中，对用于多GB/S网络的非常简单、易于使用的光学介质的需求尚未得到满足。聚合物光纤极大地简化了光纤链路的连接，降低了安装成本，但其低带宽和高衰减限制了它们的使用。该公司发明了一种独特的多层挤出工艺，通过控制折射率升高的掺杂剂在流动的全氟聚合物中的扩散，形成具有渐变折射率芯的塑料光纤。挤压型POF的衰减级低于30分贝/千米，并通过降低模式色散支持高带宽(~300 MHz-千米)。该方案的目的是证明使用挤出工艺制造的POF具有更高的带宽性能的可行性，可与最好的石英多模光纤(优于2 GHz-Km)相媲美。该公司开发的梯度折射率全氟塑料(GI-POF)挤出技术是大批量生产高性能新型GI-POF产品的最具竞争力的方法。能够实现超高速通信的GI-POF挤出技术的成功商业化可能会使美国成为聚合物光纤领域的商业和技术领先者。随着高速通信进入许多新的应用，GI-POF制造技术的领先地位可能会具有越来越重要的经济意义。除了提供一种解决方案，满足目前对易于使用的高速光学介质的需求，GI-POF还有望在高速企业和家庭局域网的商业市场中获得巨大的渗透率。高带宽GI-POF的可用性可能会加速互动视频等超高带宽服务向家庭和企业的渗透。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project will address the feasibility of producing low attenuation, ultrahigh bandwidth perfluorinated polymer optical fibers (POF) by a low-cost continuous extrusion process. Currently, there is an unmet need for a very simple, easy to use optical medium for multi-Gb/s networks in applications such as hospital systems, educational institutions, defense and security systems and industrial controls. Polymer optical fibers greatly simplify connectorization and lower installation costs of fiber optic links, but their use has been limited by their low bandwidth and high attenuation. The company invented a unique multi-layer extrusion process for forming a plastic optical fiber with a graded-index core by controlling the diffusion of a refractive-index-raising dopant in the flowing perfluorinated polymer. The extruded POF has attenuation levels below 30 dB/km and supports high bandwidths (~300MHz-km) through reduced modal dispersion. The goal of this proposal is to demonstrate the feasibility of using the extrusion process to manufacture POF with much higher bandwidth performance, comparable to that of the best silica multimode fiber (better than 2 GHz-km). The graded-index perfluorinated POF (GI-POF) extrusion technology developed by the company is the most competitive method for high volume manufacturing of new high performance GI-POF products. The successful commercialization of a GI-POF extrusion technology that enables ultra-high speed communications could establish the United States as a commercial and technological leader in polymer optical fiber. As high-speed communications move into many new applications, leadership in GI-POF manufacturing technology may be expected to be of increasing economic importance. In addition to providing a solution to the current unmet need for an easy-to-use high-speed optical medium, GI-POF is expected to have significant penetration in commercial markets for high-speed enterprise and home LAN. The availability of the high bandwidth GI-POF could hasten the penetration of ultra-high bandwidth services such as interactive video to homes and businesses.