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Refractive index and dispersion of highly fluorinated acrylic monomers in the 1.5m telecom
wavelength region measured with a spectroscopic Abbe refractometer

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2014 Meas. Sci. Technol. 25 077001
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Measurement Science and Technology

Meas. Sci. Technol. 25 (2014) 077001 (5pp)

doi:10.1088/0957-0233/25/7/077001

Technical Design Note

Refractive index and dispersion of highly

fluorinated acrylic monomers in the 1.5 m
telecom wavelength region measured with a
spectroscopic Abbe refractometer
V I Sokolov 1 , A G Savelyev 1 , V M Bouznik 2 , S M Igumnov 3 ,
E V Khaydukov 1 , S I Molchanova 1 , A A Tuytuynov 3 , A S Akhmanov 1
and V Ya Panchenko 1
1

Institute on Laser and Information Technologies of the Russian Academy of Sciences,

Svyatoozerskaya St. 1, 140700 Shatura, Moscow Region, Russia
2
All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Aviation Materials, Radio St. 17, 105005, Moscow, Russia
3
A N Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
Vavilova St. 28, 119991, GSP-1 Moscow, V-334, Russia
E-mail: visokol@rambler.ru
Received 1 March 2014, revised 6 April 2014
Accepted for publication 15 April 2014
Published 6 June 2014
Abstract

Fluorinated polymers are very promising for integrated optics devices due to their high
transparency in all three telecom wavelength regions around 0.85, 1.3 and 1.5 m. Knowledge
of the refractive index n and dispersion dn/d of these materials as a function of wavelength
is necessary for fabricating polymer waveguides with a well-defined numerical aperture and
group velocity dispersion in the above-mentioned spectral regions. We present a high
resolution critical angle spectroscopic refractometer for measuring n and dn/d of liquid and
solid samples in the 0.951.65 m wavelength range. The device is based on extensions to a
standard Abbe refractometer. The absolute accuracy of the spectroscopic refractometer in the
near-IR equals 2 104, the measurement range at 1.5 m being n = 1.081.65. Finally,
refractive index data in the 1.5 m telecom wavelength region are given for a number of new
highly fluorinated acrylic monomers, which have previously not been investigated to the best
of our knowledge.
Keywords: spectroscopic refractometry, near-IR refractometer, refractive index, fluorinated
monomers

propagation loss values below 0.3 dB cm1 in all the key

telecom wavelength regions around 0.85, 1.3 and 1.5 m
[3, 4]. In order to fabricate polymer integrated waveguides
with well-defined numerical aperture (NA) and group velocity
dispersion, it is important to control the refractive index n and
dispersion dn/d of the monomers in the near-IR with high
accuracy.
Various techniques to measure the refractive index of
liquid and solid samples in the near-IR have been proposed

1. Introduction
Fluorinated acrylic monomers are very attractive for
integrated optics applications because they possess high
performance (low absorption coefficient, low refractive
index, high photosensitivity), rapid processability (UV mask
photolithography, direct laser writing, laser holography)
and cost-effectiveness [15]. Optical waveguides made
of fluorinated polymers can be highly transparent, with
0957-0233/14/077001+05$33.00

2014 IOP Publishing Ltd

Printed in the UK

Meas. Sci. Technol. 25 (2014) 077001

Technical Design Note

Figure 1. Block diagram of the spectroscopic refractometer: 1Abbe refractometer IRF-454 B2M, 2optical block, containing the
illumination and measuring prisms, 3InGaAs CCD camera equipped with 100 optical microscope, 4fiber optic bundle, 5scanning
monochromator, 6halogen lamp, 7PC.

in the literature [613]. These techniques are based on the

principle of total internal reflection and are spectrally limited,
i.e. they permit to measure the refractive index only at
certain wavelengths, produced by available monochromatic
light sources: discharge lamps [6], lasers [79], LEDs [10, 11],
high power white light sources equipped with bandpass filters
[12, 13]. Actually, the continuous wavelength range can be
provided by a scanning monochromator [6, 1416] or a fiberoptic spectrophotometer [17], but it is limited by the spectral
sensitivity of the state-of-the-art photodetectors.
In this note, we present a spectroscopic refractometer for
measuring the refractive index n and dispersion dn/d of
liquid and solid samples at any specified wavelength in
the 0.951.65 m spectral range. The device is based on
extensions to a standard Abbe refractometer IRF-454 B2M
[18], its accuracy being comparable to that of an Abbe
refractometer used in the visible range, that is, 2 104.
The possibility of continuous wavelength measurements in the
near-IR is provided by the use of a scanning monochromator
equipped with a multi-cored fiber optic bundle and highsensitivity InGaAs CCD camera. Refractive index data at
1.55 m are given for new acrylic monomers with fluorination
degree of 77.385%.

Figure 2. Scheme of the critical beam propagation in the measuring

prism: the prism apex angle, iangle of incidence, ccritical
angle of total internal reflection, deflection angle.

illumination prism and the measuring prism of high refractive

index N.
The measurement of the refractive index n of the sample
with the spectroscopic refractometer is based on Snells law.
The monochromatic diffuse light scattered by the rough
surface of the illumination prism hits the interface between
the monomer and the measuring prism under various angles
i, see figure 2. According to Snells law, the light in the
measuring prism propagates only at angles < c, where
c = arcsin(n/N) is the critical angle of total internal
reflection [6].
Therefore, the light transmitted through the measuring
prism displays a sharp separation between the dark and bright
regions on the matrix of the CCD camera, see figure 3. By
varying the observation angle, the user adjusts the separation
line to the point of intersection of a reticle and reads the
reference refractive index nD from a scale.
The Abbe refractometer IRF-454 B2M is calibrated to
measure the refractive index at D = 0.5893 m (sodium
D line); therefore, one needs to apply a correction to nD to
compensate for the dispersion of the measuring prism. The
procedure is organized as follows [16]. First, the deflection
angle between the critical light beam and the normal to outer
face of the prism (figure 2) is determined by the expression

2. Working principles of the near-IR spectroscopic

refractometer
The block diagram of the spectroscopic critical angle
refractometer based on extensions to the standard Abbe
refractometer IRF-454 B2M [18] is shown in figure 1. The
halogen lamp produces the white light whose spectrum spans
from visible to near-IR. The light enters the monochromator,
from which it is coupled to the multi-cored fiber optic bundle.
The bundle consists of seven silica fibers with 0.8/0.88 mm
core/cladding diameters and NA = 0.22. In the entrance port
of the bundle, the optical fibers are aligned along the exit
slit of the monochromator, and in the outer port they form a
hexagonal structure (central fiber surrounded by six adjacent
ones). The design of the fiber bundle permits enhancement
the intensity of the monochromatic light on the sample while
keeping reasonable spectral resolution. Monochromatic light
at wavelength with a bandwidth  emerging from the
outer port of the fiber bundle passes through the illumination
prism and the liquid monomer, placed in the gap between the
2

Meas. Sci. Technol. 25 (2014) 077001

Technical Design Note

Figure 3. Sharp separation between the dark and bright regions on

the matrix of the InGaAs CCD camera, the separation line being
adjusted to the point of intersection of the reticle. The sample is
illuminated by near-IR light at wavelength = 1.55 m with a
bandwidth of  = 7 nm from a scanning monochromator using
multi-cored fiber optic bundle.

sin( ) = nD cos()


ND2 n2D sin().

Figure 4. Dispersion of the refractive index N of the measuring

prism made of TF4 glass of the IRF-454 B2M refractometer in the
near IR. The data are from the manufacturer KOMZ [18] and
correspond to the standard GOST 13659-78.

(1)

Here, is prism apex angle and ND is refractive index of

the measuring prism at D = 0.5893 m. Then, the absolute
refractive index n of the sample at wavelength is calculated
by

n = N2 sin2 ( ) sin() sin( ) cos(),
(2)
where N is the refractive index of the measuring prism at .
The upper and lower signs in equations (1) and (2) correspond
to the critical light beam, which passes to or from the prism
apex angle correspondingly, see figure 2.
3. Refractive-index measurements
The highly sensitive InGaAs digital CCD camera (C10633
Hamamatsu, 320 256 active pixels, spectral range 0.95
1.65 m) equipped with 100 optical microscope was
used to measure the refractive index of fluorinated acrylic
monomers in the near-IR spectral range. The refractometer
was connected to a cooling system to maintain a constant
temperature of the illumination and measuring prisms, and
that of the monomer at 20 C. The temperature was controlled
by electronic thermometer to within the accuracy of 0.2 C.
The refractive index ND of the measuring prism made of
TF4 glass at D = 0.5893 m (sodium D line) and that N in
the near IR, which are used to calculate the deflection angle
through equation (1) and the absolute refractive index of the
sample through equation (2), are given by the refractometer
manufacturer KOMZ: ND = 1.7404, N is presented in figure 4
[18]. The apex angle of the prism was measured by a GS-5
goniometer as = 61 59 19 5 .
To provide high spectral selectivity of the
illuminating light in the broad near-IR range, the scanning
grating monochromator (M266 Solar Laser Systems) with
400 grooves/mm grating having reciprocal linear dispersion

Figure 5. Refractive index n of fluorinated acrylic monomers

CH2= CHC(O)OC(CF3)2CF(CF3)O(CF2)2CF3 (1),
CH2=CHC(O)OC6F10-(CF3) (2),
CH2=CHCOOCH2(CF2)7CF3 (3),
CH2=CHCOOCH2CF(CF3)OCF2CF(CF3)OC3F7 (4) in
the near-IR spectral range measured at 20 C.

of 9.4 nm mm1 was used. In the experiments, the width of

the entrance slit and that of the exit slit of the monochromator was 0.8 mm or less; therefore, the bandwidth 
of the monochromatic light on the sample did not exceed
9.4 nm mm1 0.8 mm <8 nm.
Utilizing the developed spectroscopic refractometer, the
refractive index n and dispersion dn/d of a number of
new highly fluorinated acrylic monomers were measured in
the spectral range 1.31.6 m, where the monomers have
high optical transparency. The results of the measurements are
shown in figure 5 and are summarized in table 1.
3

Meas. Sci. Technol. 25 (2014) 077001

Technical Design Note

Table 1. Refractive index n and dispersion dn/d of fluorinated acrylic monomers at = 1.55 m measured at 20 C. The constants A and
B describe the wavelength dispersion of the monomers by Cauchys formula (3).

Monomer

Fluorination degree (%)

dn/d (m1)

CH2=CHC(O)O-C(CF3)2CF(CF3)O(CF2)2CF3
CH2=CHC(O)OC6F10(CF3)
CH2=CHCOOCH2(CF2)7CF3
CH2=CHCOOCH2CF(CF3)OCF2CF(CF3)OC3F7

85
81.25
77.3
77.3

1.3078
1.3287
1.3125
1.3031

3.1
2.5
2.3
2.7

103
103
103
103

B (m2)

1.3054
1.3268
1.3108
1.3010

5.8
4.7
4.2
5.0

103
103
103
103

The measured refractive index n of the monomers in the

near IR spectral range has been fitted by Cauchys formula
n = A + B/2 ,

(3)

where A and B are constants. The pertinent values of these

constants are presented in the last two columns of table 1.
Figure 5 and table 1 demonstrate that fluorinated
monomers have normal dispersion in the 1.5 m telecom
wavelength region. One can also see that the dispersion of the
monomers in this spectral range does not exceed |dn/d| =
4 103 m1.
The presented spectroscopic refractometer can be used
to measure the refractive index n and dispersion dn/d of
liquid and solid samples in the 0.951.65 m wavelength
range, the measurement range at 1.5 m being n = 1.08
1.65. The absolute accuracy of refractive index measurements
with the refractometer is stipulated by the uncertainty in
adjusting the separation line to the reticle and nD reading
from the scale (typically 1 104 or better) as well as by
the uncertainties in the apex angle and refractive index N of the
measuring prism, which contribute through error propagation
of equations (1) and (2). By taking into account that the
apex angle is typically determined within 5 and N within
2.5 105, one can conclude that the absolute accuracy of
the refractometer in the near-IR is better than 2 104.
The comparison of the refractive index of fused silica at =
1550 nm measured using the spectroscopic refractometer with
the literature data [19] has confirmed this evaluation.
The spectral resolution of the refractometer depends on
the width of monochromator slits and does not exceed 8 nm.
For comparison, the spectral resolution of the DSR- multiwavelength refractometer [11] is determined by the spectral
characteristics of the utilized LEDs and equals 918 nm.
The resolution of the DR-M2/M4 multi-wavelength Abbe
refractometer [12] and that of the near-IR refractometer [13] is
determined by the spectral width of the bandpass interference
filters and equals 10 nm.
The absorption coefficient of the acrylic monomers
and
CH2=CHC(O)OC(CF3)2CF(CF3)O(CF2)2CF3
CH2=CHC(O)OC6F10(CF3) with the fluorination degree
85% and 81.25% correspondingly does not exceed 0.26 dB
cm1 at 1.55 m, see figure 6. The absorption spectra ()
presented in figure 6 were obtained as follows. First, the
transmittance spectra TL() of the liquid monomers were
measured in quartz cells with the length L = 1, 2, 3, 5
and 10 cm using the Shimadzu UV3600 spectrophotometer.
Then, the absorption spectra were calculated on the basis of
BeerLamberts law according to the well-known equation:
() = log(T (L1 )/T (L2 ))/(L2 L1 ),

Figure 6. Absorption coefficient () of highly fluorinated acrylic

monomers CH2=CHC(O)OC(CF3)2CF(CF3)O(CF2)2CF3 (1)

and CH2=CHC(O)OC6F10(CF3) (2) in the 1.5 m telecom
wavelength region.

where L2 and L1 (L2 > L1) are the lengths of the cells. The
resultant spectra () were averaged with few cell pairs having
different lengths L1 and L2.
The investigated fluorinated monomers are photo-curable;
therefore, they can be used for fabricating polymer optical
waveguides and other elements of integrated optics circuits by
the UV photolithography technique or direct laser writing.
4. Conclusions
This paper gives the detailed description of the near-IR
spectroscopic refractometer for measuring the refractive index
and dispersion of liquid and solid samples at any specified
wavelength in the 0.951.65 m spectral range. It is based on
extensions to the standard IRF-454 B2M Abbe refractometer
and is equipped with high-sensitivity InGaAs CCD camera.
The illumination of the sample is performed by the nearIR light from the scanning monochromator using the multicored fiber optic bundle. This is the first demonstration
of the spectroscopic refractometer for the 1.5 m telecom
wavelength region.
The refractive index n and dispersion dn/d of new
highly fluorinated acrylic monomers, which have previously
not been investigated, are measured around 1.5 m. The
monomers have high optical transparency and are photocurable; therefore, they can be used for fabricating various

(4)
4

Meas. Sci. Technol. 25 (2014) 077001

Technical Design Note

polymer elements of integrated optical circuits using UV mask

photolithography and direct laser writing.
The absolute accuracy of the presented spectroscopic
refractometer in the near-IR is better than 2 104, the
measurement range at 1.5 m being n = 1.081.65. The
accuracy can be enhanced by using InGaAs CCD camera
with higher resolution and monochromatic light with smaller
spectral bandwidth .

[5] Sokolov V I, Panchenko V Y and Seminogov V N 2010

Quantum Electron. 40 73942
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[18] Baigish IRF-454 B2M Abbe refractometer www.baigish.ru
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http://refractiveindex.info

Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for
Basic Research under grants 13-07-00976, 13-07-12093, 1303-12265, 14-07-00759 and by the government of the Russian
Federation (contract no. 14.B25.31.0019).
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