What Chemical Mechanical Planarization Is and How It Is Used in the Fiber Optic Cable Assembly Process

QUESTION:

What is Chemical Mechanical Planarization and how is it used in the fiber optic cable assembly process?

ANSWER:

CMP flock pile pads provide two functions in the polishing process for MT ferrules:

• The primary purpose is to etch away the thermoset or thermoplastic on the MT ferrule and leave the fibers at a specific, controllable protrusion.

• The secondary purpose is to polish the fibers.

Most polishing films have a single purpose: they polish. For MT ferrules, the CMP process uses a flock pile pad to provide a hybrid of chemical etching and abrasive polishing. This dual-purpose film achieves both etching and polishing by combining two forces: chemical and mechanical. The mechanical forces are motion, pressure, and velocity of the substrate (in this case, the connector) across the CMP flock pile pad. The flock pile pad is a nylon material secured to a base-film material such as polyethylene terephthalate. The individual piles (nylon fibers) range from .3 to .5 mm in length. This allows the chemical to fully achieve a good coverage surface of the MT ferrule while enabling it to etch away the thermoset or thermoplastic to achieve a flat and even surface.

READ THE FULL BLOG ARTICLE HERE:  Using Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) to polish MT ferrules and get repeatable, predictable results

ADDITIONAL CONTENT & RESOURCES:

• Category Resource:
  • FOC Film Page
  • FOC Polish Page 

• Find More Information in this Blog:
  • Why Do Scratches Appear After Using the Final Film?
  • Polishing Tips and Best Practices for Single Fiber Connectors

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