Abstract:
An apparatus for manufacturing a glass perform, includes: a dummy tube section, a reservoir portion, and a cooling portion; and a glass tube section in which particles of an alkali metal compound or an alkaline earth metal compound which have flowed into the glass tube section from the dummy tube section are heated by a second heat source which performs traverse, and oxides of the particles being deposited on an inner wall and dispersed in the glass tube section. In the cooling portion of the dummy tube section, vapor of the alkali metal compound or the alkaline earth metal compound generated by heating of a first heat source is cooled and condensed by a dry gas flowing into the dummy tube section, and thereby the particles are generated.
Abstract:
High aspect ratio core optical fiber designs, which could be semi-guiding, including a core region having a first refractive index and a high aspect ratio elongated cross-section along a slow axis direction, are described. An internal cladding having a second refractive index sandwiches the core and acts as a fast-axis signal cladding. The core has an edge region at both of its short edges that is in contract with edge-cladding regions having a barbell shape. The refractive index of the core regions, the refractive index of the internal claddings, and the refractive index of the edge-cladding regions, are selected so as to maximize the optical power of a lowest-order mode propagating in the fiber core, and to minimize the optical power of the next-order modes in the fiber core. A process to fabricate such a high aspect ratio core fiber is also provided.
Abstract:
An apparatus and process for making glass soot sheet and sintered glass sheet. Glass soot particles are deposited on a curved deposition surface of a rotating drum to form a soot sheet. The soot sheet is then released from the deposition surface. The soot sheet can be sintered into a consolidated glass. The soot sheet and the sintered glass can be sufficiently long and flexible to be reeled into a roll.
Abstract:
The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for forming soot used in making glass, and in particular, optical waveguides. A liquid precursor (66) is first fed into orifice (52) of a liquid orifice insert (48) within an injector (44) positioned within an atomizing burner assembly, and is thereafter discharged from the injector into a pressurization chamber (56). An atomization gas (70) is also fed into the pressurization chamber (56) to mix with the liquid precursor liquid stream (68) which breaks into droplets (76). The liquid precursor and atomization gas arm forced under pressure out of an atomization orifice (32) on the face of the burner (30) assembly. Flame gas (74), reaction gas (84) and shield gas (82) are ejected from burner orifices (40, 38, 36 and 34) to produce the flame. The atomized liquid precursor thus discharged is fed into the flame (72) produced at the face of the burner assembly where the atomized liquid precursor reacts with the flame to form soot (78) on a rotating mandrel (80).
Abstract:
The method includes collapsing a silica-based glass tube to make a preform and drawing fiber from the preform. Prior to collapsing the tube, one or more glass layers are formed on the inner surface of the tube by dip-coating the surface with a sol comprising a metal alkoxide dissolved in an alcoholic or aqueous solvent, polymerizing the sol to form a gel, and drying and sintering the gel. A substantial portion the dopant, present within the sintered gel, diffuses into at least one adjoining glass region. A wide selection of dopant materials, in the form of salts or alkoxides, are readily incorporated by dissolving them in the solvent.
Abstract:
In producing a preform for an optical fiber by MCVD technology, involving the buildup of a core matrix of doped silica layers inside a glass tube with subsequent thermal collapse of the structure, a layer of dopant is deposited on the inner surface of the finished core matrix before the collapse. The thickness of this dopant layer, which advantageously is in a colloidal state, progressively diminishes along the tube axis in a direction away from an end of the tube at which the collapse begins. The law of thickness variation is chosen to maintain an internal gas pressure of vaporized dopant equal to the vapor pressure of the dopant in the core material at the collapsing temperature, in order to prevent the appearance of a paraxial dip in the refractive-index profile of an optical fiber subsequently drawn from the collapsed preform.
Abstract:
An apparatus for producing preforms for the production of optical fibers by plasma coating and drawing. A plasma stream produced with the aid of a radio frequency generator is caused to successively pass through three zones in the first of which a mixture of fluidized powders of two materials of appropriate composition is injected and completely vaporized. In the second zone an oxidizing gas having a mixing action is introduced into the deeply cooled stream. The materials and gas react with each other to form microseeds. The powders contain high purity silicon and at least one doping element of the group comprising Al, Ge, B. Ti and Zr. In the third zone an inert gas is introduced and deposition of substance is effected on substrates suitably arranged with respect to the path followed by the plasma stream.
Abstract:
A process is described for forming glass optical fibers by heating a glass composition to vaporize a component of the composition at the surface to reduce the refractive index of the glass surface. Four alternative processes can be used: heat treating a fiber preform followed by drawing the fiber, simultaneous heat treating and fiber pulling from a glass melt, fiber pulling followed by heat treating or heat treating the surface of a melt followed by drawing a fiber or preform so that the surface of the melt comprises the cladding.
Abstract:
A refractory starting member is rotated and, at the same time, moved along the axis of rotation. A glass raw material for the formation of the core of a porous preform and consequently an optical fiber preform is introduced into a high temperature portion near the tip of a high temperature burner from a nozzle for the core disposed in alignment with the center of rotation of one end face of the starting member. The glass raw material blown out from the nozzle for the core are caused by the flames of the high temperature burner to react to produce glass fine particles, which are deposited on abovesaid end face of the starting member at the central portion thereof in its axial direction to form a porous core. At least one nozzle for spraying a glass raw material for the formation of the cladding of the optical fiber preform is disposed opposite to the end face of the starting member but a little deviated from the axis of rotation thereof, or disposed opposite to the peripheral surface of the porous core. The glass raw material for the cladding is sprayed from the nozzle for the cladding to the high temperature portion of the high temperature burner, and caused to react to form glass fine particles, which are deposited on the end face of the starting member on the outside of the porous core or on the peripheral surface thereof at the same time as the formation of the latter, forming a porous cladding. The porous preform thus obtained is moved into a high temperature furnace provided on the path of movement of the preform for the vitrification thereof into an optical fiber preform.
Abstract:
A silica soot preform (12) is inserted into a furnace (30). The preform is then treated with heat and carbon monoxide gas (32) so as to reduce impurities that could effect the final product.