Are there issues with relaxation of induced poling, photochromatic damage to electro-optic chromophores, material outgassing?
• In its post-fabrication state, OC GuideLink™ is known (anecdotally through actual structures) to have a lifetime (nominally room temperature and humidity levels) of at least 10 years with no observable degradation. Crosslinking, post-fabrication bake-out, and bonding to specific substrate materials are the central tenants to OC GuideLink™’s long term stability and superior performance. Poling and poling relaxation are not issues for OC GuideLink™ because this phenomena occurs only in non-linear optical materials none of which are currently used in OC GuideLink™. Photorefractive or photochromatic damage is a function of optical power density within the waveguides and can be adjusted through design. Preliminary testing has indicated that high optical powers do not cause any observable degradation or non-linear behaviors. Short term dwell tests at high powers in single mode guides at 1450nm in excess of 400mW showed no degradation. Sustained power tests at 1300 nm at 100
Related Questions
- Is the performance of the ALDS the same between leaks caused by external damage (the leak may be instantaneous) versus a leak caused by material failure (the leak may be slow)?
- Is anything given off be the material (e.g. extractables, outgassing)?
- Does freezing and thawing damage the STONEWEAR material?
