Abstract:
The purpose of the invention is heavy metal oxide thin films and their applications. These thin films will serve to produce doped and undoped planar wave-guides and planar lightwave circuit (PLC) for passive and active optical devices (amplifier, laser, filter, multiplexer, attenuators and . . . ). These thin films present low loss, good chemical and thermal stability and wide optical transmission window, high solubility of all rare earth ions and transition metals ions . . . . They can be deposited on different substrates.
Abstract:
Systems and methods are described providing a hepatic recycling glucose tolerance test for the diagnosis of types and subtypes of diabetes mellitus and other hyperglycemic or hypoglycemic conditions. A method is also provided for screening candidate drugs for treating various types of abnormal glucose metabolism and to monitor whether the course of treatment is effective. The method also allows the correlation of gene activity, hormone and metabolite levels with glucose flux and recycling and an assessment of the degree of hepatic insulin resistance. The method utilizes a preferably non-radioactive stable labeled glucose to asses the relative rates of carbon flow in the liver and provides a hepatic recycling constant that is a measure of the relative rate of glucose recycling. The labeled glucose may be introduced to the patient orally, intravenously or by intraperitoneal administration for the desired effect.
Abstract:
The present invention relates to a process for the synthesis of fluoride glass by the sol-gel method.The object of the invention is to synthesize an impurity-free fluoride glass.This object is achieved with the aid of a process having stages consisting of preparing a wet oxygenated gel from precursors containing all the cations constituting said fluoride glass, hydrolyzing said gel, drying said gel and in which the process is characterized in that it also comprises the stage consisting of treating said oxygenated gel by a fluorinating agent in the vapour phase, at a temperature below the glass crystallization point.This process more particularly makes it possible to produce fluoride glass for optical fibres.
Abstract:
The present invention relates to amorphous thin films and methods of manufacturing the same. These amorphous thin films contain zirconium oxide (ZrO2), preferably at a concentration of at least 30 mol %, and other metal oxides and have surprisingly good mechanical and optical properties. In some embodiments of the present invention, the thin films may be further processed to obtain fluorinated glasses containing the same metal elements as the metal oxides.
Abstract:
A method of manufacturing an optical fiber preform, the method comprising: providing a substantially elongated core preform made out of a core fluorinated glass; providing a substantially elongated and substantially tubular cladding preform made out of a cladding fluorinated glass, the cladding preform defining a bore extending substantially longitudinally therethrough; inserting the core preform into the bore of the cladding preform; fusing the core preform and the cladding preform to each other to produce an intermediate preform; heating the intermediate preform up to a stretching temperature, the stretching temperature being such that the core and cladding fluorinated glasses both have a viscosity of between 10−7 and 10−9 Pa s at the stretching temperature; stretching the intermediate preform at the stretching temperature to produce a stretched intermediate preform; and cutting a section of the stretched intermediate preform. Typically, the stretching temperature is between a vitreous transition temperature and a crystallization temperature of the core and cladding glasses.