Improving partial wetting resolution on flexible substrates for application of polymer optical waveguides

Gerd-Albert Hoffmann; Tim Wolfer; Thomas Reitberger; Jörg Franke; Oliver Suttmann; Ludger Overmeyer

doi:10.1117/1.OE.56.10.103109

27 October 2017 Improving partial wetting resolution on flexible substrates for application of polymer optical waveguides

Gerd-Albert Hoffmann, Tim Wolfer, Thomas Reitberger, Jörg Franke, Oliver Suttmann, Ludger Overmeyer

Author Affiliations +

Optical Engineering, Vol. 56, Issue 10, 103109 (October 2017). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.56.10.103109

Abstract

Considering the increasing amount of data for communication and infotainment applications, fabrication of optical networks and bus systems is a challenging task for production engineering. A two-step manufacturing process for polymer optical waveguides is presented. By improving the highly efficient flexographic printing technology by laser functionalization of the printing tool in combination with a subsequent spray application, high-quality waveguides are accomplished. By adjusting the resulting surface energy of the foil substrate in the first fabrication process, the spray application achieved high-aspect ratio waveguides with a low attenuation of 0.2 dB/cm at 850 nm.

Citation Download Citation

Gerd-Albert Hoffmann, Tim Wolfer, Thomas Reitberger, Jörg Franke, Oliver Suttmann, and Ludger Overmeyer "Improving partial wetting resolution on flexible substrates for application of polymer optical waveguides," Optical Engineering 56(10), 103109 (27 October 2017). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.56.10.103109

Received: 14 August 2017; Accepted: 5 October 2017; Published: 27 October 2017

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