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Novel method for the fabrication of gradient‐index plastic optical fibers
Author(s) -
Sohn InSung,
Park ChangWon
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.690491006
Subject(s) - refractive index , fabrication , materials science , dopant , polymer , optical fiber , composite material , poly(methyl methacrylate) , methyl methacrylate , optics , optoelectronics , doping , copolymer , medicine , alternative medicine , physics , pathology
A novel coextrusion method has been introduced for the fabrication of gradient‐index plastic optical fibers (GI‐POFs). In this method, the radial diffusion of a refractive‐index‐modifying dopant in a polymer matrix is enhanced significantly by a new die design concept. A theoretical analysis indicates that this new method can substantially reduce the material residence time required to obtain a smooth refractive‐index profile, thereby increasing the output rate to a much higher level than possible with the conventional methods. An experiment using a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) with diphenyl sulfide (DPS) and diphenyl sulfoxide (DPSO) as the refractive‐index‐modifying dopants has shown an excellent agreement with the theoretical prediction, suggesting that the new coextrusion method is a viable way to manufacture a GI‐POF with the bandwidth higher than 700 Mbits/s at a distance of 100 m.