Apparatus and method of manufacturing optical waveguides

A method of manufacturing an optical waveguide fiber, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing an optical waveguide preform;
• heating said optical waveguide preform to a draw temperature;
• drawing an optical waveguide fiber from said heated optical waveguide preform;
• providing a heat flux chamber having an optical waveguide fiber entrance and an optical waveguide fiber exit;
• passing said drawn optical waveguide fiber through said entrance and out said exit;
• and
• non-optically measuring the heat flux radiated by said optical waveguide fiber within said chamber.

An optical waveguide temperature device for non-optically measuring an average temperature Tf of a length of optical waveguide fiber being drawn from a heated optical waveguide preform in a draw furnace heated to a draw temperature, said device comprising:

• a thermally isolated chamber having a plurality of side walls and a central channel that traverses said chamber from a top wall to a bottom wall, said chamber being adapted to receive through said central channel said length of optical waveguide fiber being drawn;
• a plurality of differential thermopiles secured to the inside surface of said side walls of said chamber, a first surface of each of said differential thermopiles being thermally isolated from a second surface, said first surface of each of said differential thermopiles faces said central channel and has a dark absorptive surface, said first surface of each of said differential thermopiles being exposed to said heat flux, said second surface being in thermal contact with said side walls of said chamber, said second surface of said differential thermopiles having a reference surface temperature of about Ts;
• and
• a cooling system in thermal contact with said side walls of said chamber, said cooling system being adapted to substantially maintain said reference surface temperature Ts of said side walls of said chamber.

An optical waveguide fiber manufacturing device, said device comprising:

• a draw furnace heated to a draw temperature;
• an optical waveguide preform positioned within said draw furnace, said optical waveguide preform being heated to said draw temperature;
• a temperature monitor for non-contact measurement of an average temperature Tf of an optical waveguide fiber being drawn from said heated optical waveguide preform, said temperature monitor being in alignment with said draw furnace and including:
• a thermally isolated chamber having a plurality of side walls and a central channel that traverses said chamber from a top wall to a bottom wall, said chamber being positioned downstream from said draw furnace, said chamber being adapted to receive through said central channel said optical waveguide fiber being drawn from said optical waveguide preform, said chamber having:
• a plurality of heat flux sensors adapted to measure an amount of heat flux radiated by said optical waveguide fiber within said chamber, each of said heat flux sensors being fixed securely to an inner surface of said side walls of said chamber;
• and
• a cooling system in thermal contact with said side walls of said chamber, said cooling system being adapted to substantially maintain a reference surface temperature Ts of each of said heat flux sensors.