Since the early 1970s, the demand for higher communication and information traffic has caused the optical fiber network to burgeon. In fact, the modern fiber optic network comprises a large part of the Internet backbone. This includes long-distance communication...
Since attending the RAPID 3D event this summer, I’ve been fielding questions related to sanding 3D printed objects. Thanks to our expertise in abrasive films, several engineers and technicians at 3D printer manufacturers and 3D printing production houses – as well as...
Where can I get a little bit of Teflon? ÅngströmLink AL-2233 is basically that. A Teflon-like polymer dissolved in an evaporative solvent. To get a thin layer of ‘almost -Teflon’, make a thin layer of AL-2233 and let the solvent evaporate. What will be left behind...
What is an example of micro imprinting? One of the best examples of wafer level optics is the camera module on your mobile phone. The basic idea is to fabricate layers of microlenses that are stacked up to make the complete optical element, which is then bonded...
Optical polymers are very specialized materials. Not only are they lightweight, easy to process, strong, inexpensive and transparent; some of them (like the OKP polyesters) have high refractive index. High refractive index?? Refractive index is a measure of how light...
From Cracker Jack’s Magnifying Glass to SmartPhone In recent decades the quality of plastic optics has improved drastically. What was formerly considered to be cheap, low-quality lenses are now high-quality, lightweight, low-cost, precision optics. These optics can...
Nothing in the ordinary world informs our intuition about how materials will behave at molecular interfaces. The cartoon below shows a typical imprinting process: a photoimageable imprint resin formed into a layer on a rigid substrate (silicon or glass wafer), with...
Designing optics for index matching requires knowledge of the refractive index of the adjoining optical materials. By convention, the value of the refractive index at the Sodium D line (589nm, ‘yellow’) is usually quoted for optical materials, even when the...
Welcome to the first blog post on Polymers from FOC. If you begin following me on Twitter, you will read many insights on FOC’s different specialty products that I manage. I titled this first blog “everything you ever wanted to know in Randall’s...
OKP has been my introduction to working with a foreign supplier. We stock this moldable plastic at Fiber Optic Center to make it readily available to users in North America. Should be easy, right? With all the talk these days about quick delivery service, same day...
If you are my age you will remember the rubber stamp kit you had as a kid. Today’s imprint? Same thing, just really tiny. Apparently the only way to satisfy our ever increasing desire for smaller, faster, lighter devices in our homes and to carry around or attach...
