A study of polymer clad resin with higher modulus for high NA fibers

Abstract

There has been a rapidly increasing demand for the high numerical aperture (NA) in specialty optical fibers used in recent high power fiber lasers and remote sensing applications. Various polymer clad resins (PCR) have been reported aimed for a low refractive index to achieve a high NA, which resulted in a lower modulus. In this study, we report a novel PCR with a higher modulus whilst maintaining a high NA over 0.44 using newly designed fluorinated oligomer and monomer having low refractive index and high functionality. Some resins prepared various formulations using synthesized oligomers and then compared curing speed.