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Climatic exposure of polymer optical fibers: Thermooxidative stability characterization by chemiluminescence
Author(s) -
Appajaiah Anilkumar,
Wachtendorf Volker,
Daum Werner
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.23955
Subject(s) - materials science , cladding (metalworking) , transmittance , composite material , optical fiber , thermal stability , polymer , degradation (telecommunications) , optoelectronics , optics , chemical engineering , telecommunications , physics , computer science , engineering
The optical transmission stability was investigated for commercially available polymer optical fibers (POFs) which were exposed to a climate of 92°C and 95% relative humidity for about 3300 h. The optical transmission stability of POFs was correlated to their thermooxidative stability. POFs possessed identical core material, poly(methyl methacrylate), but they differed in the materials used for the claddings. The optical transmission was measured online using a prototype device called multiplexer. The chemiluminescence (CL) technique was applied to characterize the thermooxidative stability and degradation of POFs. CL analysis reveals the thermooxidative degradation of bare POFs (core and cladding), predominantly of the claddings, as a result of climatic exposure. Ultraviolet–visible transmittance measurements demonstrated more changes in the claddings as compared to the cores due to degradation. The CL and optical measurements data indicated that the optical transmission stability of POFs was dependent mainly on the thermooxidative stability of the claddings and their chemical compositions. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 1593–1601, 2007