Method of fabrication of single mode optical fibers or waveguides
AssigneeInternational Telephone and Telegraph Corporation
InventorsFrancis I. Akers, Mokhtar S. Maklad
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Abstract
A method for fabricating a fiber with optical cores of diameters between 2 to 20 microns is depicted. A first step includes the fabrication of a step-index preform of predetermined dimensions. The preform is drawn into a conventional fiber by conventional techniques resulting in a fiber having an outer diameter of about 120 microns or larger. The fiber is then emplaced in a glass tube. The tube is collapsed on the fiber by heating the same resulting in a second preform. This preform is again drawn into a fiber by conventional techniques to obtain a final fiber having core dimensions indicative of single mode operation with compatible outer diameters.
Claims15
A method for fabricating an optical fiber comprising the steps of:
- forming a first solid glass preform having a central core region of a first diameter, a cladding layer surrounding said core and a substrate layer surrounding said cladding layer,
- heating and drawing said first solid preform into a first fiber having a core of a second diameter smaller than said first diamater,
- collapsing a glass tube about said first fiber by heat shrinking to form a second solid preform having a core of the second diameter,
- heating and drawing said second solid preform into a second fiber having a core of a third diameter substantially smaller than the second diameter of said first fiber, whereby said second fiber is capable of single mode operation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.