SBIR Phase I: Nanomanufactured optical elements for fiber optic connectors

这个项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是在先进制造领域。该项目开发了一种低成本，高分辨率的纳米制造技术平台，用于构建光纤器件，其方法目前因制造成本而无法实现。虽然该技术需要缩小尺寸和降低成本才能满足光学元件市场的需求，但如果成功，单个客户的需求可能达到8位数。因此，这项技术可以在使用光子学的整个市场范围内改变光学制造，包括生物医学、能源、军事和消费市场。如果它能满足光子学领域的需求，这个使用模板将积木组装成复合材料的平台将会进入更广阔的商业市场。其中一个例子包括将增材制造（3D打印）扩展到纳米电子学、信息技术和个性化低成本消费设备制造。通过开发这一平台所创造的科学和技术理解，可以使企业利用美国的低成本纳米制造来解决世界各地先进材料和组件的市场。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将利用先进的纳米制造平台，降低组件成本，使用于光纤线路卡的光纤组件小型化。这些光线卡包含许多直径为5mm的圆柱形组件，每个组件对进入卡的光信号执行不同的操作，然后将某些信号路由到输出光信号。能够减小组件尺寸意味着光纤组件制造商可以在给定的物理空间中封装更多组件，或者减少线卡的总体占地面积，而不会对性能产生负面影响或增加成本。第一阶段的研究活动将包括组装直径接近1毫米的原型组件，验证组件性能可以接近当前设备的性能，并评估具体的制造和组装策略，以评估尺寸减小和制造成本。预期结果包括性能数据和对所需技术创新的准确预测，以及在不增加制造成本的情况下减少组件尺寸所需的权衡。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is in the field of advanced manufacturing. This project develops a low cost, high resolution nanomanufacturing technology platform for building optical fiber devices with approaches that are currently out of reach because of manufacturing cost. While both size and cost reductions are needed for this technology to address the optical component market, if successful, demand could reach 8 figures for a single customer. This technology could thus transform optics manufacturing across the entire spectrum of markets that use photonics: including biomedical, energy, military, and consumer markets. If it meets the needs of the photonics sector, this platform, which uses a template to assemble building blocks into composite materials, could penetrate a much broader commercial marketplace. One example includes extending additive manufacturing (3D printing) to nanoelectronics, information technology, and personalized low-cost manufacturing of consumer devices. The scientific and technological understanding created by developing this platform could enable businesses to leverage low-cost U.S.-based nanomanufacturing to address markets for advanced materials and components around the world. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will miniaturize optical fiber components that are used in fiber optical line cards, by leveraging an advanced nanomanufacturing platform with potential to reduce component cost as well. These optical line cards contain many cylindrical components that are 5 mm in diameter, each of which performs different operations on the optical signals coming into the card, and then routes certain signals to output optical signals. Being able to reduce component size means optical fiber component manufacturers can pack more components into a given physical space, or reduce the overall footprint of a line card without negatively impacting performance or increasing cost. Phase I research activities will include assembling prototype components with diameters approaching 1 mm, verifying that component performance can approach that of current devices, and evaluating specific manufacturing and assembly strategies to assess size reduction and manufacturing cost. Expected results include performance data and an accurate forecast of the required technical innovations and trade-offs needed to reduce component size without increasing manufacturing cost.