Abstract:
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an optical fiber preform for obtaining an optical fiber with low transmission loss. A core preform included in the optical fiber preform comprises three or more core portions, which are each produced by a rod-in-collapse method, and in which both their alkali metal element concentration and chlorine concentration are independently controlled. In two or more manufacturing steps of the manufacturing steps for each of the three or more core portions, an alkali metal element is added. As a result, the mean alkali metal element concentration in the whole core preform is controlled to 7 atomic ppm or more and 70 atomic ppm or less.
Abstract:
The Ti3+ ions present in Ti-doped silica glass cause a brown staining of the glass, causing inspection of the lens to become more difficult. Known methods for reducing Ti3+ ions in favor of Ti4+ ions in Ti-doped silica glass include a sufficiently high proportion of OH-groups and carrying out an oxygen treatment prior to vitrification, which both have disadvantages. In order to provide a cost-efficient production method for Ti-doped silica glass, which at a hydroxyl group content of less than 120 ppm shows an internal transmittance (sample thickness 10 mm) of at least 70% in the wavelength range of 400 nm to 1000 nm, the TiO2—SiO2 soot body is subjected to a conditioning treatment with a nitrogen oxide prior to vitrification. The blank produced in this way from Ti-doped silica glass has the ratio Ti3+/Ti4+≦5×10−4.
Abstract:
To provide low scattering silica glass suitable as a material of an optical communication fiber.Silica glass, which has a fictive temperature of at least 1,000° C., and which has a void radius of at most 0.240 nm as measured by positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy. A method for heat-treating silica glass, which comprises holding silica glass to be heat-treated in an atmosphere at a temperature of at least 1,200° C. and at most 2,000° C. under a pressure of at least 30 MPa, and cooling the silica glass at an average temperature-decreasing rate of at least 40° C./min during cooling within a temperature range of from 1,200° C. to 900° C. A method for heat-treating silica glass, which comprises holding silica glass to be heat-treated in an atmosphere at a temperature of at least 1,200° C. and at most 2,000° C. under a pressure of at least 140 MPa, and cooling the silica glass in an atmosphere under a pressure of at least 140 MPa during cooling within a temperature range of from 1,200° C. to 900° C.
Abstract:
A method for producing a silica glass blank co-doped with titanium and fluorine for use in EUV lithography includes (a) producing a TiO2—SiO2 soot body by flame hydrolysis of silicon- and titanium-containing precursor substances, (b) fluorinating the TiO2—SiO2 soot body to form a fluorine-doped TiO2—SiO2 soot body, (c) treating the fluorine-doped TiO2—SiO2 soot body in a water vapor-containing atmosphere to form a conditioned soot body, and (d) vitrifying the conditioned soot body to form the blank. The blank has an internal transmission of at least 60% in the wavelength range of 400 to 700 nm at a sample thickness of 10 mm, a mean OH content in the range of 10 to 100 wt. ppm and a mean fluorine content in the range of 2,500 to 10,000 wt. ppm. Titanium is present in the blank in the oxidation forms Ti3+ and Ti4+.
Abstract:
A method to form quartz glass ingots of ultra low contamination and defect levels by firing a high-purity quartz form as the feedstock, wherein the quartz glass ingot is free-formed on a platen rotating concentrically with the feedstock quartz article.
Abstract:
One aspect relates to a method for the manufacture of doped quartz glass. Moreover, one aspect relates to quartz glass obtainable according to the method including providing a soot body, treating the soot body with a gas, heating an intermediate product and vitrifying an intermediate product.
Abstract:
A blank made of titanium-doped silica glass for a mirror substrate for use in EUV lithography is provided. The blank includes a surface portion to be provided with a reflective film and having an optically used area (CA) over which a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) has a two-dimensional inhomogeneity (dCTE) distribution profile averaged over a thickness of the blank. A maximum inhomogeneity (dCTEmax) of less than 5 ppb/K is defined as a difference between a CTE maximum value and a CTE minimum value. The dCTEmax is at least 0.5 ppb/K. The CA forms a non-circular area having a centroid. The dCTE distribution profile is not rotation-symmetrical and is defined over the CA, such that straight profile sections normalized to a unit length and extending through the centroid of the area yield a dCTE family of curves forming a curve band with a bandwidth of less than 0.5×dCTEmax.
Abstract:
Methods for producing an optical fiber by elongating a silica glass blank or a coaxial group of silica glass components, on the basis of which a fiber is obtained that comprises a core zone, an inner jacket zone enclosing the core zone and a ring zone surrounding the inner jacket zone, are known. In order to provide, proceeding from this, a method, a tubular semi-finished product and a group of coaxial components for the cost-effective production of an optical fiber, which is characterized by a high quality of the boundary between the core and jacket and by low bending sensitivity, according to the invention, the silica glass of the ring zone is provided in the form of a ring zone tube made of silica glass having a mean fluorine content of at least 6000 weight ppm and the tube has an inner tube surface and an outer tube surface, wherein via the wall of the ring zone tube, a radial fluorine concentration profile is adjusted which has an inner fluorine depletion layer with a layer thickness of at least 1 μm and no more than 10 μm, in which the fluorine content decreases toward the inner tube surface and is no more than 3000 weight ppm in a region close to the surface which has a thickness of 1 μm.
Abstract:
A method for producing a silica container having a rotational symmetry includes forming a preliminarily molded article by feeding a powdered substrate's raw material to an inner wall of an outer frame having aspiration holes with rotating the frame, and forming a silica substrate. The preliminarily molded article is aspirated from an outer peripheral side with controlling a humidity inside the outer frame by ventilating gases present in the outer frame with charging from inside the preliminarily molded article a gas mixture comprised of an O2 gas and an inert gas and made below a prescribed dew-point temperature by dehumidification, and at the same time heated from inside the preliminarily molded article by a discharge-heat melting method with carbon electrodes, thereby making an outer peripheral part of the preliminarily molded article to a sintered body while an inner peripheral part to a fused glass body.
Abstract:
An easily producible optical fiber preform which is drawn to an optical fiber having a core containing a sufficient concentration of alkali metal is provided. An optical fiber preform 10 is composed of silica-based glass and includes a core portion 20 and a cladding portion 30. The core portion 20 includes a first core portion 21 including a central axis and a second core portion 22 disposed on the perimeter of the first core portion 21. The cladding portion 30 includes a first cladding portion 31 disposed on the perimeter of the second core portion 22 and a second cladding portion 32 disposed on the perimeter of the first cladding portion 31. The core portion 20 contains an alkali metal at an average concentration of 5 atomic ppm or more. The concentration of the OH group in the perimeter portion of the first cladding portion 31 is 200 mol ppm or more.