Monomers and polymers in a centrifugal field: a new method to produce refractive-index gradients in polymers

A new method is presented to generate and to fixate compositional gradients in blends of two miscible and amorphous polymers. A compositional gradient is introduced into a solution of a polymer in a monomer by use of a centrifugal field, and this gradient is subsequently fixated by polymerization of the solvent-monomer. It is shown that substantial compositional and refractive-index gradients can be generated in miscible, highly transparent, amorphous polymer blends by a proper selection of materials and processing conditions. Moreover, it is shown that these materials and processes are potentially useful for producing optical components such as self-focusing lenses.