Synthesis And Characterization Of A Near-infrared Luminescent And UV-written Er-containing Polymer

Erbium organic complexes have near-infrared fluorescence properties in the optical window of optical fibers(1550 nm),which can composite with optical polymer to prepare novel Er-containing polymer materials.They possess the advantages of stable structures,low cost and excellent processability.Epoxy resins possess high versatility thanks to ring-opening and crosslinked for the UV curing of low shrinkage,good adhesion of material interface,dielectric properties,dimensional stability,solvent resistance and excellent mechanical properties.Direct-write UV lithography is available to the polymer containing Er and epoxy groups for fabricating optical waveguide materials with specific geometry.The Er-containing waveguide polymers possess the properties of both Er complexes and epoxy resins,and then low absorption loss in the optical window is required.One of the effective methods to reduce absorption loss is substituting heavy and halogen atoms for hydrogen atoms.In this paper,we have established a method to synthesize the polymers containing Er and fluorine.They possess the properties of near-infrared fluorescence and low absorption loss.First of all,the organic ligands owning olefin double bonds,conjugated structure and rigid planar were introduced to prepare erbium complexes with erbium ions(Er3+).Four kinds of erbium complexes,containing polymeric reactivity groups,have been successfully synthesized via a simple method.Then they were polymerized with glycidyl methacrylate(GMA)for use as novel cross-linkable polymers through free radical copolymerization reactions.Then the cross-linked polymer films were prepared by spin coating process,which possess good film-forming,thermal stability,solvent resistance and near-infrared fluorescence(1550 nm).Finally,we set about reducing the absorption loss in of optical polymer materials through designing and synthesizing the polymers containing Er and fluorine.Direct-write UV lithography was used by the simple method of exposing and developing to fabricate strip micro patterns with smooth top surfaces and steep sidewalls of polymer optical waveguide.