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US 2002/0054741 A1Published application
Fabrication of optical fibers incorporating volatile constituents
OwnerGilberto Brambilla, Valerio Pruneriinventors
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OwnerGilberto Brambilla, Valerio Pruneriinventors
Estimating the term…
A method of fabricating an optical fiber incorporating a volatile constituent, involving: (a) providing a preform comprising a cladding glass having an axial aperture and a core glass arranged in the axial aperture, wherein the working temperature of the core glass lies below the working temperature of the cladding glass; and (b) drawing the preform into an optical fiber at a drawing temperature that lies between the working temperatures of the core and cladding glasses and above the softening temperature of the cladding glass, wherein the core glass prior to drawing includes a dioxide or higher oxide compound of the volatile constituent having a Gibbs free energy of disassociation into a monoxide compound of the volatile constituent that is negative at the drawing temperature, whereby the dioxide or higher oxide compound tends to disassociate into the monoxide compound during drawing. The volatile constituent may be Sn or Pb. The method may also be adapted for incorporating P as the volatile constituent. With this method, the core material melts while the cladding glass remains solid but in a deformable state. Melting the core material, provides more freedom in the choice of combinations of core and cladding glasses. The starting material for the core may be a powder or a solid rod, i.e. the invention may be embodied as a powder-in-tube (PIT) or a rod-in-tube (RIT) method.
A method of fabricating an optical fiber incorporating a volatile constituent, comprising:
An optical fiber incorporating a volatile constituent, comprising a cladding made of a cladding glass and a core made of a core glass, wherein the working temperature of the core glass lies below the working temperature of the cladding glass, and wherein the core glass includes a monoxide compound of the volatile constituent, there being a Gibbs free energy of disassociation from a dioxide or higher oxide compound of the volatile constituent into the monoxide compound that is negative at a temperature below 1500 degrees Celsius.
An optical fiber preform for fabricating an optical fiber incorporating a volatile constituent, comprising a cladding glass having an axial aperture and a core glass arranged in the axial aperture, wherein the working temperature of the core glass lies below the working temperature of the cladding glass, and wherein the core glass includes a dioxide or higher oxide compound of the volatile constituent having a Gibbs free energy of disassociation into a monoxide compound thereof that is negative at a temperature below 1500 degrees Celsius.
A method of fabricating an optical fiber incorporating phosphorous, comprising:
An optical fiber incorporating phosphorous, comprising a cladding made of a cladding glass and a core made of a core glass, wherein the working temperature of the core glass lies below the working temperature of the cladding glass, and wherein the core glass includes a monoxide compound of phosphorous.
An optical fiber preform for fabricating an optical fiber incorporating phosphorous, comprising a cladding glass having an axial aperture and a core glass arranged in the axial aperture, wherein the working temperature of the core glass lies below the working temperature of the cladding glass, and wherein the core glass includes a dioxide or higher oxide compound of phosphorous.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.