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Compensation of the birefringence of a polymer by a birefringent crystal
Akihiro Tagaya1, Hisanori Ohkita, Masaki Mukoh
1Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, 3-14-1, Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama 223-0061, Japan. BZZ13624@nifty.ne.jp
Abstract:
We report a method for compensating the birefringence of optical polymers by doping them with inorganic birefringent crystals. In this method, an inorganic birefringent material is chosen that has the opposite birefringence to that of the polymer and has rod-shaped crystals that are oriented when the polymer chains are oriented. The birefringence of the polymer is thus compensated by the opposing birefringence of the crystal. Birefringence is minimized in various polymer optical devices by adjusting process conditions, because it degrades the performance of devices. This method minimizes it, independent of process conditions, which potentially improves the productivity of devices.
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