New Materials and Processes for the Fabrication of Low Loss, High Tg Step Index and Graded Index Polymeric Optical Fibers

Polymer Optical Fibers (POFs) are attractive for short-haul applications such as local area networks (LAN), fiber to the home (FTTH), and datalinks in ships, aircrafts and automobiles, due to their low cost, flexibility and ease of handling. The large diameter of POFs helps in achieving fiber coupling with ease and high efficiency. Commercially available POFs suffer from optical loss, and low maximum operating temperatures. Therefore, there is a need for the development of low loss, heat resistant materials and processes in order to meet the applications in short-haul communication. Molecular Technologies Inc. is proposing to develop novel low loss, high heat resistant materials and processes to fabricate step and graded index (GI) POFs. Investigation of novel fabrication techniques for GI POFs will be the main focus of this Phase I program. Design and synthesis of low loss, high Tg transparent polymers will be performed. Optical loss and refractive index distribution in the GI POFs will be investigated. The fabrication technique will be extended to make POF amplifiers. The Phase I effort will establish the foundation for the Phase II program, where the emphasis will be on the scale up of the manufacturing process and application in communication devices.