Wire-drawing optical fiber base material manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus
AssigneeShin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
InventorTetsuya Otosaka
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A wire-drawing optical fiber base material manufacturing method of heating an optical fiber base material by a heater and forming a drawing shape portion at an end portion. The manufacturing method includes: forming, by a flow-regulating member disposed adjacent to the heater, a gas flow such that formation, along a surface of the optical fiber base material, of a flow of a gas containing a Si compound generated from the optical fiber base material heated by the heater is inhibited; and forming, while maintaining the gas flow, the drawing shape portion by pulling part of the optical fiber base material softened by being heated by the heater.
Claims11
A manufacturing apparatus that manufactures a wire-drawing optical fiber base material, the manufacturing apparatus comprising:
- a heater that heats an optical fiber base material;
- an upper portion heat insulating material to surround the optical fiber base material;
- a flow-regulating member arranged adjacent to the heater and lower than the upper portion heat insulating material, the flow-regulating member including:
- a tubular portion that surrounds the optical fiber base material, the tubular portion having an inner diameter smaller than an inner diameter of the upper portion heat insulating material, and
- a flange portion, integrated with the tubular portion, that spreads out from an upper end of the tubular portion and outward in a radial direction of the optical fiber base material;
- a pulling unit that pulls part of the optical fiber base material softened by being heated by the heater and forms a drawing shape portion at an end portion;
- and
- a lower portion heat insulating material and a lid portion heat insulating material, inside of which the heater is disposed, the lid portion heat insulating material being stacked on the lower portion heat insulating material, wherein
- the flow-regulating member inhibits backflow of an outgas containing a Si compound generated from the optical fiber base material heated by the heater from forming along a surface of the optical fiber base material below the upper portion heat insulating material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.