Low Loss Polymer Optical Fiber and Components for High Speed Optical Networks

This DOE SBIR program would develop a manufacturing process to produce plastic optical fibers with bandwidth, bend loss and ease of installation significantly improved over currently available products. Current polymer optical fibers are manufactured using bulk polymer processing methods. These methods limit the types of fiber waveguides that may be formed, so significantly limit their maximum achievable bandwidth and their losses due to bending. NanoSonic would develop a polymer optical fiber manufacturing approach based on patented self-assembly methods that would instead allow production similar to that of high performance glass optical fibers. During Phase I, NanoSonic would demonstrate the use of layerbylayer polymer selfassembly processes to fabricate polymer optical fiber preforms, draw the preforms into prototype fiber, and demonstrate fiber performance in comparison to currently available polymer optical fiber products. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: Polymer optical fiber with improved bandwidth and loss characteristics has immediate large-scale commercial application in the interconnection of local bandwidth-intensive computing, communication and display devices. Such improved fiber would enable longer distance and higher speed local interconnections to existing high-speed longhaul fiber backbone lines, with easier and lower cost installation and maintenance than possible with current polymer fibers.