Abstract
We demonstrate that the extrusion speed of thermoplastic urethane elastomer can modify its optical transmission by a factor of more than 100. Varying extrusion speed at constant temperature may tune optical properties along the axis of a filament, for example creating absorbent regions that are sensitive to length and diameter changes, surrounded by more transmissive segments that carry the sensor signal over long distances. Such waveguiding in a stretchable optical fiber requires a stretchable cladding with lower refractive index than the core. In experiments toward a rugged, stretchable fiber cladding, we investigated whether solvents could modify the outer structure of the filaments. Soaking the filaments in NMP (n-methyl-2-pyrrolidone), then stretching the filaments while the solvent dried, turned out to modify the filaments in a way that solvents alone did not, creating porosity and reducing the appearance of optical clarity.
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Campbell, M., Singh, P., Kate, K. et al. Controlling Thermoplastic Elastomer Optical Properties by Mechanical Processing. MRS Advances 4, 1341–1347 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1557/adv.2019.19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/adv.2019.19