Polymers fiber optics

Polymer Fiber Optics Materials, Physics, and Applications, Mark G. Kuzyk... 

Kuzyk, M. G. (2007). Polymer fiber optics materials, physics, and applications. Boca Raton, CRC/Taylor Francis. 

Kyuzyk, M.G. (2007) Polymer Fiber Optics Materials, Physics, and Applications, Taylor Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL, London, New York, pp. 170-176. 

Optics. Good optical properties and low thermal resistance make poly(methyl methacrylate) polymers well suited for use as plastic optical fibers. The manufacturing methods and optical properties of the fibers have been reviewed (124) (see Fiber optics). Methods for the preparation of Fresnel lenses and a Fresnel lens film have been reported (125,126). Compositions and methods for the industrial production of cast plastic eyeglass lenses are available (127). 

Examples of nir analysis are polymer identification (126,127), pharmaceutical manufacturing (128), gasoline analysis (129,130), and on-line refinery process chemistry (131). Nir fiber optics have been used as immersion probes for monitoring pollutants in drainage waters by attenuated total internal reflectance (132). The usefulness of nir for aqueous systems has led to important biological and medical appHcations (133). 

Certain state highway authorities are studyiag the use of ftber-reiaforced polymers, typically thermosets such as epoxy or unsaturated polyester, for bridge constmction. On an even more futuristic scale, fiber optics that employ polymeric jacketing and, ia some cases, optically active polymeric cores, may someday be employed ia place of wines for home security systems, climate control, etc (10,91). 

Light wave technologies provide a number of special challenges for polymeric materials. Polymer fibers offer the best potential for optical communications in local area network (LAN) applications, because their large core size makes it relatively cheap to attach connectors to them. There is a need for polymer fibers that have low losses and that can transmit the bandwidths needed for LAN applications the aciylate and methacrylate polymers now under study have poor loss and bandwidth performance. Research on monomer purification, polymerization to precise molecular-size distributions, and weU-controlled drawing processes is relevant here. There is also a need for precision plastic molding processes for mass prodnction of optical fiber connectors and splice hardware. A tenfold reduction in the cost of fiber and related devices is necessaiy to make the utilization of optical fiber and related devices economical for local area networks and tlie telecommunications loop. 

D. Walt, F. Milanovich, S. Klainer 1986 Polymer modification of a fluorescent fiber optic pH sensor... 

Figure 4. Luminescence decay profile of an oxygen indicator dye excited by a short flash of light, in (a) solution and (b) embedded into a gas-permeable film used to fabricate fiber-optic sensors for such species. The logarithmic scale of the Y-axis allows to compare the exponential emission decay in homogeneous solution and the strongly non-exponential profile of the photoexcited dye after immobilization in a polymer matrix.

Baldini F. and Bracci S., Polymers for optical fiber sensors, in Polymer Sensors and Actuators, Y. Osada, D. E. De Rossi (eds.), Springer Verlag 2000, 91. 

Volkan M., Stokes D.L., Vo-Dihn T., Surface-enhanced Raman of dopamine and neurotransmitters using sol-gel substrates and polymer-coated fiber-optic probes, Appl. Spectrosc. 2000 54 1842-1848. 

Munkholm C., Walt D.R., Milanovich F.P., Klainer S.M., Polymer modification of fiber optic chemical sensors as a method of enhancing fluorescence signal for pEl measurement, Analytical Chemistry 1986 58 1427-1430. 

In order to act as a transducer optode must be attached to the optical fiber. Bulks (>1 mm) of sol-gel matrix can be easily glued to the fiber tip, especially, if the polymer fiber is used39. The smaller optodes can be attached to fiber end by dip-coating method or simply by direct painting of the fiber-tip with a liquid gel. 

This chapter provides an overview of the basic principles and designs of such sensors. A chemical sensor to detect trace explosives and a broadband fiber optic electric-field sensor are presented as practical examples. The polymers used for the trace explosive sensor are unpoled and have chromophores randomly orientated in the polymer hosts. The electric field sensor uses a poled polymer with chromophores preferentially aligned through electrical poling, and the microring resonator is directly coupled to the core of optical fiber. 

Intrinsically conducting polymers, 13 540 Intrinsic bioremediation, 3 767 defined, 3 759t Intrinsic detectors, 22 180 Intrinsic fiber-optic sensors, 11 148 Intrinsic magnetic properties, of M-type ferrites, 11 67-68 Intrinsic photoconductors, 19 138 Intrinsic rate expressions, 21 341 Intrinsic semiconductors, 22 235-236 energy gap at room temperature, 5 596t Intrinsic strength, of vitreous silica, 22 428 Intrinsic-type detectors, cooling, 19 136 Intrinsic viscosity (TV), of thermoplastics, 10 178... 

The data shown here demonstrate the use of an NIR dye immobilized in a polymer matrix which is sensitive to changes in metal ion concentration and solution pH. Additionally, the utility of NIR dyes in immunosensors has been shown. Although the use of NIR dyes in fiber optic techniques has only recently been demonstrated, the range of potential applications is abundant. As functionalized NIR dyes become commercially available or new, large-scale syntheses are reported, the use of NIR dyes in bioanalytical applications will most certainly expand. 

S. Luo and D. R. Walt, Fiber-optic sensors based on reagent delivery with controlled-release polymers. Anal. Chem, 61, 174-177 (1989). 

A fiber-optic device has been described that can monitor chlorinated hydrocarbons in water (Gobel et al. 1994). The sensor is based on the diffusion of chlorinated hydrocarbons into a polymeric layer surrounding a silver halide optical fiber through which is passed broad-band mid-infrared radiation. The chlorinated compounds concentrated in the polymer absorb some of the radiation that escapes the liber (evanescent wave) this technique is a variant of attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectroscopy. A LOD for chloroform was stated to be 5 mg/L (5 ppm). This sensor does not have a high degree of selectivity for chloroform over other chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons, but appears to be useful for continuous monitoring purposes. 

In this application, the process analyzer is used in the vis-NIR spectral region to measure the clear top layer on a co-extruded polymer film. The bottom layer is pigmented to an opaque white color and its thickness cannot be determined by this method. Prior to the installation of the fiber-optic spectroscopy system, film samples were measured manually in the laboratory by a subtractive scheme. First, the total thickness of a sample was measured on a manual profilometer. The top layer of the polymer was removed with methylene chloride. The sample was then repositioned on the profilometer as closely as possible to the originally measured spot and the thickness of the second white layer was determined. The thickness of the top layer was then determined by difference. 

S.J. FouUc, K.L. Miller, R. Spatafore, On-line monitoring of polymer melts using UV fiber optic spectroscopy, Proc. SPIEInt. Soc. Opt., 2069, 85-94 (1993). 

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