Microfluidic wet spinning of soft polydimethylsiloxane polymer optical fibers

Polymer optical fibers (POFs) are an essential component of photonic textile sensors for the development of healthcare@home technologies. However, fabricating tailored POFs exhibiting the required properties for such applications remains challenging. Here, an innovative method to fabricate soft POFs based on polydimethylsiloxane is introduced: the hydrogel-assisted microfluidic wet spinning (HA-MWS) technology. Combined with a straightforward post-processing step, the HA-MWS enabled the production of soft POFs with tailored moduli (0.35 MPa to 5.0 MPa), low surface roughness (Rq< 6 nm), and, consequently, low attenuation (