Advanced Long Shelf-Life UV Curable Refractive Index Matching Material
Navy SBIR FY2011.2

Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2011.2
Topic No.: N112-125
Topic Title: Advanced Long Shelf-Life UV Curable Refractive Index Matching Material
Proposal No.: N112-125-0869
Firm: Agiltron Corporation
15 Presidential Way
Woburn, Massachusetts 01801-1040
Contact: Geoffrey Burnham
Phone: (781) 935-1200
Web Site: http://www.agiltron.com
Abstract: The Navy is seeking the new index matching materials which can significantly improve the shelf life performance of mechanical splices based on light cured index matching materials. Agiltron proposes to develop advanced fluorinated polyurethane acrylate (F-PUA) based UV curable refractive index matching materials with long shelf life, low-optical loss, and wide operating temperature. The proposed F-PUA resin will be simulated for the optimum refractive index value using I-Lab 2.0 and synthesized in two steps: i) a reaction between fluorinated polyol and diisocyanate and ii) making acrylate terminal group via the reaction of intermediate and hydroxyl functional acrylate. By homogeneously dispersing the highly stable photoinitiator with long shelf-life and high effective heat releasing agents into resin, the resultant F-PUA resin system will exhibit much improved shelf-life of longer than 1 year at room temperature and up to 50øC. The new high performance F-PUA resin will also provide additional advantages of the excellent transparency, very low propagation loss, and wide range of operating temperatures. Agiltron proposed refractive index matching materials is suitable for use in fiber optic mechanical splices and can be economically scaled-up for manufacturing. The improved shelf life will be demonstrated by the accelerated shelf-life testing method during Phase I.
Benefits: Agiltron proposed innovative F-PUA based UV curable index matching materials can significantly improve shelf-life and thermal stability satisfying the requirement of military and civil applications. In addition to military fiber optic mechanical splices, this UV curable resin can be used for precision adhesives for military warship, aircraft, satellites, vehicles, and so on. Moreover, this high performance F-PUA resin can be directly applied to durable coating, adhesive, and paint applications.

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