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

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）二期项目将通过低成本的连续挤压工艺，推进低衰减、超高带宽、分级指数、全氟聚合物光纤（GI-POF）的可靠制造技术。目前，在数据中心、超级计算和消费电子等快速增长的应用中，对一种易于使用、坚固耐用的介质的需求尚未得到满足，这种介质允许数据通信迁移到每秒10千兆比特甚至更高的速度。该项目将产生一种生产质量工艺，生产的塑料纤维具有与最好的多模玻璃纤维相同的带宽，但采用简单的“即插即夹”安装工艺，弯曲半径公差比玻璃纤维允许的要严格五倍。该项目将解决三个方面的问题，使该技术发展成为商业上可行的产品：1)先进的挤出工艺开发，大大改善光纤带宽分布和衰减，同时使生产速度提高一倍；2)研究证明新聚合物可以将纤维的工作温度提高到85℃；3)研究和开发一种独特的，易于制造的多芯光纤设计，可以为客户提供几乎无限的带宽，并大大改善了紧密弯曲的衰减。如果成功，该项目开发的生产技术将有可能重新夺回美国在POF制造业的领导地位，同时刺激该行业使用的制造资本设备的美国生产。同样，使用POF开发下一代短距离通信系统的美国公司也将受益，因为他们将更好地获取基于GI-POF的信息和定制产品。该项目的成果将有助于改善美国数据通信制造许多领域的“生态系统”。此外，通过启用一种产品，使高带宽电缆的安装更加简单和便宜，第二阶段项目将为学校、医院和其他对高带宽通信有很多需求，但通常没有大量预算来支持此类系统的机构带来相当大的好处。第二阶段项目的科学效益可能是大规模并行计算设施的简化和低成本建设，以及对无定形含氟聚合物及其前体化学品的化学合成技术的商业兴趣的增加。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will advance the technology for reliably manufacturing low attenuation, ultrahigh bandwidth, graded-index, perfluorinated polymer optical fibers (GI-POF) by a low cost continuous extrusion process. Currently there is an unmet need for an easy-to-use, rugged medium that allows the migration of data communications to speeds of 10 Gigabits per second, and beyond, in rapidly growing applications such as data centers, supercomputing and consumer electronics. This project will result in a production quality process for manufacturing plastic fibers having bandwidth equal to the best multimode glass fibers, but with a simple "plug-and-clamp" installation process, and tolerance of bend radii fivefold tighter than that allowed by glass fibers. The project will address three areas to develop the technology into commercially viable products: 1) Advanced extrusion process development to greatly improve fiber bandwidth distribution and attenuation, while doubling production speed; 2) Investigation to prove-in new polymers that can increase the fiber operating temperature up to 85 deg C; 3) Investigation and development of a unique, readily manufactured multi-core fiber design that can offer customers almost unlimited bandwidth, as well as greatly improved attenuation in tight bends.If successful the production technologies developed in this project will result in the possible recapturing of American leadership in POF manufacturing while stimulating American-based production of the manufacturing capital equipment used in this industry. Similarly, American companies using POF to develop next-generation short-distance communication systems will also benefit, as they will enjoy better access to information and custom products based on GI-POF. The results of this project will help improve the "ecosystem" for many areas of datacom manufacturing in the US. Also, by enabling a product that makes installation of high-bandwidth cabling much simpler and less expensive, the Phase II project will be of considerable benefit to schools, hospitals, and other institutions which have many needs for high-bandwidth communication, but often do not have large budgets to support such systems. The scientific benefits of the Phase II project are likely to be the simplified and lower-cost construction of massively parallel computing facilities, and increased commercial interest in chemical synthesis techniques for amorphous fluoropolymers and their precursor chemicals.