Cationic light/heat curing high purity MQ silicone resin solutions for high speed optical fiber coating

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Project Background:

Driven by the development of high-speed communications, optical fiber coating materials are in urgent need of higher optical transparency, heat stability and low modulus performance. The UV-curable acrylate system originally used by a certain optical communication material customer has problems such as rapid yellowing, easy brittle cracking, and low temperature resistance, which cannot meet the packaging requirements of ultra-low loss optical fibers for 5G communication base stations.

Cationic light/heat curing high purity MQ silicone resin solutions for high speed optical fiber coating

Customer Requirements:

High optical transparency (>98%@400~800nm)

Low stress, good flexibility, adapt to fiber bending

Fast light curing, adapt to high-speed coating line speed (>1200 m/min)

Good adhesion to glass fiber, not easy to peel off

Heat-assisted curing can improve deep curing integrity

The material should have electronic grade purity, no migration and precipitation

Solution:

We have developed a high-purity cationic light/heat-curing MQ silicone

resin specifically for optical fiber coating:

Product model: SK-SIUV-512

Product form: colorless transparent liquid, solid content 100%,

viscosity 2000~4000 mPa·s

Technical Features

Performance Indicators	Value
M/Q Unit Molar Ratio	0.9~1.1
Metal Impurity Content	< 10 Ppm
Light Transmittance (400~800nm)	> 98%
TGA 5% Thermal Weight Loss Temperature	≥ 260°C
Surface Drying Time (LED 395nm, 200 MW/Cm²)	< 5 Seconds
Tensile Modulus	< 20 MPa
Coefficient Of Thermal Expansion (CTE)	60 Ppm/°C

Curing Method:

First step: LED-UV cationic initiation for rapid film formation;

Second step: Thermal curing to assist in improving crosslinking density and durability (120℃/10 min)

Process Flow Diagram

1. Add photoinitiator (1~2%) to SK-SIUV-512 to make a coating liquid
2. High-speed online continuous coating on the bare optical fiber surface
3. Rapid initial curing through LED UV irradiation
4. Further curing through the heat channel to enhance crosslinking

Application Effect Comparison:

Performance Items	Original Solution (Acrylate)	SK-SIUV-512 Solution
Transmittance @ 550nm	89.6%	98.7%
Coating Peel Strength	1.2 MPa	2.9 MPa
Modulus	42 MPa	18 MPa
Yellowing ΔYI (96h @ 85°C)	12.4	1.1
Curing Time	12 Seconds	4.5 Seconds (UV) + 5 Minutes (Heat)