Precision Process Control for Fabrication of High-Performance Polymer Optical Fiber

该补助金提供资金，用于研究和使用精密工艺控制加工高性能（即极高带宽）聚合物光纤。 该团队将研究在光纤半径范围内对光纤折射率分布的精确控制，以实现高带宽传输。新的方法将通过控制气态二氧化碳在升高的压力下扩散到圆柱形聚合物预成型件中来产生纳米级孔，从而在聚合物中产生二氧化碳的非平衡、过饱和溶液以及作为径向位置的函数的CO2浓度的变化。光纤有可能实现千兆赫数据传输。建模和实验任务的结合将探索二氧化碳在光学级聚合物中的传输行为和控制。与石英玻璃相比，聚合物光纤具有较低的弹性模量，使其能够制造更大的光纤直径，使光纤连接更容易，更便宜。 对于具有大量连接的短距离应用，使用聚合物光纤可以显著降低系统成本。 如果研究成功，聚合物光纤将提供一个全新的机会，提供安全、低成本、用户友好的介质，将高带宽扩展到社会的各个方面：家庭、企业、数据中心和日常交通方式，包括飞机和汽车上的娱乐。

This grant provides funding to study and enable processing of high-performance (i.e. very high bandwidth) polymer optical fiber using precision process control. The team will investigate the precision control of the optical fiber's refractive index profile across the fiber radius to achieve high bandwidth transmission. The new methodology will produce nanometer scale pores by control of the diffusion of gaseous carbon dioxide into a cylindrical polymer preform at elevated pressure, generating a non-equilibrium, supersaturated solution of carbon dioxide in the polymer and a resulting change in CO2 concentration as a function of the radial position. The optical fiber has the potential to enable gigahertz data transmission. A combination of modeling and experimental tasks will explore the transport behavior and control of carbon dioxide in optical grade polymer.Polymer optical fiber has a lower modulus of elasticity compared to silica glass, allowing it to be manufactured with larger fiber diameters, making fiber connections easier and cheaper. For short-range applications with a large number of connections, the system cost can be dramatically reduced using polymer optical fiber. If the research is successful, polymer optical fiber will offer a completely new opportunity to provide secure, low-cost, user-friendly media for extending high bandwidth to all aspects of society: homes, businesses, data centers, and everyday modes of transportation including entertainment in aircraft and automobiles.