Talataisong Wanvisa, Ismaeel Rand, Sandoghchi Seyed Reza, Rutirawut Teerapat, Topley Glenn, Beresna Martynas, Brambilla Gilberto
Opt Express. 2018 Nov 26;26(24):32007-32013. doi: 10.1364/OE.26.032007.
Microstructured polymer optical fibers (MPOFs) have long attracted great interest due to their wide range of applications in biological and chemical sensing. In this manuscript, we demonstrate a novel technique of manufacturing MPOF via a single-step procedure by means of a 3D printer. A suspended-core polymer optical fiber has been extruded and directly drawn from a micro-structured 3D printer nozzle by using an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) polymer. Near-field imaging at the fiber facet performed at the wavelength λ~1550 nm clearly indicates guidance in the fiber core. The propagation loss has been experimentally demonstrated to be better than α = 1.1 dB/cm. This work points toward direct MPOFs manufacturing of varieties of materials and structures of optical fibers from 3D printers using a single manufacturing step.
微结构聚合物光纤（MPOFs）因其在生物和化学传感方面的广泛应用长期以来备受关注。在本论文中，我们展示了一种通过3D打印机采用单步工艺制造MPOF的新技术。利用丙烯腈-丁二烯-苯乙烯（ABS）聚合物，从微结构3D打印机喷嘴挤出并直接拉制出了一种悬芯聚合物光纤。在波长λ~1550 nm下对光纤端面进行的近场成像清楚地表明了光在光纤芯中的传导。实验证明，其传输损耗优于α = 1.1 dB/cm。这项工作为使用单个制造步骤从3D打印机直接制造各种材料和结构的光纤MPOF指明了方向。
