Optical fibers with multiple openings from additive manufacturing

An optical fiber with multiple openings made from the steps of:

• designing a fiber structure;
• designing and fabricating an extrusion die using additive manufacturing or three-dimensional (3D) printing;
• wherein the extrusion die has a first set of plurality of channels that combine inside the die into a second set of plurality of channels with a different set of shapes and sizes;
• wherein each channel has a pressure that is independently controlled;
• extruding a preform from an IR-transparent glass from the additive-manufactured die;
• and
• stretching the preform into an optical fiber with multiple openings.

An extrusion die comprising an additive manufactured material and having a proximal side having a first set of plurality of openings and having a distal side having a second set of plurality of openings;

• wherein the openings of the proximal side are the beginnings of feed channels within the body of the die;
• wherein each channel has a pressure that is independently controlled;
• wherein the openings of the distal side are the endings of forming channels within the body of the die;
• and
• wherein inside the body of the die, two or more of the feed channels combine with one or more of the forming channels.