Project Details
Projekt
Three-dimensional addititve manufacturing of optical waveguides
Applicant
Professor Dr.-Ing. Jörg Ernst Franke
Subject Area
Plastics Engineering
Term
from 2014 to 2022
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 190714407
The overall objective of the research project is to understand effects and functional relationships in the production of function-specific three-dimensional polymer optical waveguides. By this, the possibility of printing optical short-distance links directly onto the surface shall be given. In the second funding period, the freedom of design is to be extended beyond the two-dimensional space to arbitrarily shaped (free of undercuts) three-dimensional surfaces.How is it possible to produce polymer optical waveguides with optical quality by additive manufacturing on spatially curved surfaces?This can be specified as follows:• To what extent can the results obtained for two-dimensional printing during the first funding period be adapted to three-dimensional substrates? Are there hitherto unregarded effects in terms of surface energy / stress, friction, flow behavior due to acting forces, roughness, interfacial effects, and how do all these factors influence the resulting geometrical and optical properties?• How can these influences be quantified and modeled and how can optimal process parameters settings be derived from the modelling?• How is it possible ensure the application of a coat layer in a defined and reproducible way not only in 2D but also in 3D? Is a specific manipulation of the surfaces necessary or is printing onto the non-cured core purposeful (Liquid-Liquid-Printing)?• Where are the limits concerning the shape in terms of both optical and mechanical properties?
DFG Programme
Research Units
