Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/02—Optical fibres with cladding with or without a coating
  • G02B6/02033—Core or cladding made from organic material, e.g. polymeric material
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
  • B29D—PRODUCING PARTICULAR ARTICLES FROM PLASTICS OR FROM SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE
  • B29D11/00—Producing optical elements, e.g. lenses or prisms
  • B29D11/00663—Production of light guides
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
  • B29D—PRODUCING PARTICULAR ARTICLES FROM PLASTICS OR FROM SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE
  • B29D11/00—Producing optical elements, e.g. lenses or prisms
  • B29D11/0074—Production of other optical elements not provided for in B29D11/00009- B29D11/0073
  • B29D11/0075—Connectors for light guides
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
  • G02B6/26—Optical coupling means
  • G02B6/28—Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals
  • G02B6/2804—Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals forming multipart couplers without wavelength selective elements, e.g. "T" couplers, star couplers
  • G02B6/2821—Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals forming multipart couplers without wavelength selective elements, e.g. "T" couplers, star couplers using lateral coupling between contiguous fibres to split or combine optical signals

Definitions

• Present invention is dealing with technology for preparation of optical waveguide couplers by use of siloxane polymer fibers.
• the technical field to which the invention is related is photonics and fiber optics.
• Optical waveguide couplers are elements of waveguide optics wh ich link optical waveguide systems, the optical waveguide systems have one or more inputs, and one or more optical waveguide outputs.
• Optical radiation which is bound to input of the coupler may occur in one output or in more outputs of the coupler, while the intensity of optical signal in respective outputs may depend on the wavelenght of the radiation or on polarisation of the radiation.
• Optical waveguide couplers are currently produced by various technologies, for example from optical fibers, from planar waveguides and from various materials, such as melted quartz, lithium niobate, silica, and others.
• Siloxane polymers are macromolecular compounds which are formed from central polymer chain, the chain is made by alternating atoms of silicon and oxygen, and on the chain are attached organic groups such as methyl group, phenyl group or vinyl group. The organic groups are chemically connected only to free bonds of silicon atoms. Depending on the lenght of the silicon-oxygen chain, on type of organic group and depending on crosslinking between the molecular chains, siloxan polymers can create large number of various materials, each of such materials may have unique physical and chemical properties.
• siloxane polymers are presently prepared, among other things, materials which have application in photonics and in waveguide optics, mainly because of optical transparency of the material in wide range of light wavelengths.
• Such materials include siloxane polymers, for instance poly(dimethylsiloxane), poly(dimethyl/difenylsiloxane), etc. These materials are used in waveguide optics for preparation of optofluidic waveguides [D. PSALTIS, S. R. QUAKE, C.
• siloxan polymers Materials from siloxan polymers are often prepared from two-part siloxanes, the siloxan prepolymer is mixed with the curing agent in applicable proportion. After mixing of prepolymer and curing agent, hardening of the siloxane polymer will occur, while the process of hardening depends on the temperature and on the time. Based on the temperature the hardening of siloxane polymer may occur in several hours, or only in few seconds. The process of hardening of the siloxane polymer is accompanied by growth of siloxane polymer viscosity. After achieving befitting viscosity it is possible to pull the siloxan fibers from the partially cured siloxan [I. MARTINCEK, D. PUDIS, P. GASO, "Fabrication and optical characteristics of strain variable PDMS biconical optical fiber taper," IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. Vol. 25, 2066-2069 (2013)].
• siloxan polymer fibers are prepared from partially cured siloxane polymer with applicable viscosity by pulling the fiber, for pulling is used the other fiber or a stick. After obtaining partially curred siloxane fibers, the siloxane fibers are drawn to each other, either in one touch point, or in more touch points.
• the fibers get connected due to adhesive forces between partially cured siloxan fibers, and a bond or more bonds are created, while the lenght of the bonds is variable, and it may vary depending on geometrical alignment of siloxane fibers, or it may vary depending on the time during which the adhesive forces acted between the partially cured siloxan fibers.
• the fibers can be heated to applicable temperature in order to cure the siloxane polymer completely, and after complete hardening the length of the siloxane fiber bonds is stabilized.
• the siloxane polymer fibers Before or after hardening of siloxane polymer fibers, the siloxane polymer fibers can be inserted into uncured siloxane polymer with refractive index which is different from the refractive index of the siloxane fibers. By inserting operation is prepared all-siloxane fiber element.
• the all-siloxane fiber element can be subsequently heated to applicable temperature to speed up the hardening of siloxan polymers, or the all-siloxane fiber element may be cured at room temperature.
• Fig. l shows two partially cured siloxane polymer fibers, the fibers connect on a short bond
• Fig.2 shows two partially cured siloxane polymer fibers, the fibers having longer bond, the bond arose out of adhesive forces acting between the partially cured siloxane fibers
• Fig.3 shows two partially cured siloxane polymer fibers, the fibers having longer bond, the fibers were inserted into uncured siloxane polymer with different refractive index than is the refractive index of the connected siloxane fibers.
• siloxane fibers For production of siloxane fibers was used a two-part siloxane elastomer LS-6943, the product of NuSil Technology, the elastomer is composed of two components: A-prepolymer and B-curing agent. Components A and B were mixed together in container, a ratio of components was 10: 1. After 8-9 hours the siloxan in the container at room temperature was partially cured and the siloxane aquired such viscosity, that it was possible to pull fibers from the siloxan by using a fiber or stick. The fiber or stick was inserted into the siloxane in the container, and then was pulled out from the container, and a new fiber was created by pulling.
• Siloxan elastomer 5 Sylgard 184 was made from two components, A-prepolymer and B-curing agent, the components A and B were mixed in the ratio of 10: 1.
• Siloxan elastomer 5_Sylgard 184 has, in the visible and the near-infrared region, lower refractive index than the elastomer LS-6943.
• new optical waveguide prepared from the fibers 1 and 2 was directing optical radiation on the base of total internal reflection at the interface of the elastomers LS-6943 and Sylgard 184.
• Fibers 1 and 2 were then sorrounded by uncured elastomer 5 Sylgard 184, and then joined partially cured fibers 1 and 2 made from siloxane elastomer LS-6943 with the surrounding uncured elastomer 5 Sylgard 184 were heated together in order to fully cure the siloxane elastomer LS-6943 and Sylgard 184. By that operation was created all-siloxane optical coupler 6 type 2x2.
• Technology for preparation of optical waveguiede couplers from siloxane polymer fibers can be used for production of waveguide optical elements used in photonic industry.

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• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
• Ophthalmology & Optometry (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Optics & Photonics (AREA)
• Optical Couplings Of Light Guides (AREA)
• Optical Integrated Circuits (AREA)

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Citations (5)

• 2014
  • 2014-10-13 SK SK73-2014A patent/SK288623B6/sk unknown
• 2015
  • 2015-09-28 WO PCT/SK2015/000002 patent/WO2016060623A1/en active Application Filing

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