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US 4,515,612 AGranted
Method for optical fiber fabrication including deuterium/hydrogen exchange
AssigneeAT&T Bell Laboratories
InventorsCharles A. Burrus, Jr., Julian Stone
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for manufacturing silica-based optical fiber, and for manufacturing optical fiber preforms, the method comprising deuterium/hydrogen exchange in the silica-based material carried out subsequent to formation of the silica.
Claims7
Method for fabrication of an optical fiber preform comprising silica-based glassy material, the method comprising
- (a) chemically reacting at least some of the constituents of a moving stream of gas mixture comprising at least one glass-forming precursor compound and an oxidizing medium, the reaction resulting in the formation of a glassy silica-based reaction product,
- (b) forming a body by depositing at least a part of the reaction product on a substrate, at least part of the material of the body containing hydrogen bonded to oxygen, and
- (c) consolidating at least part of the deposited product by means of a hot zone produced by a heat source external to the body,
- characterized in that the method further comprises
- (d) replacing at least part of the hydrogen bonded to oxygen with deuterium in a deuterium/hydrogen exchange step carried out subsequent to step (b).
2 more elements
Method for fabrication of an optical fiber preform comprising glassy silica-based material, the method comprising
- (a) forming a tubular body by depositing silica-based glassy material in substantially porous, unconsolidated form on the inside surface of a tube comprising silica, at least part of the material of the tubular body containing hydrogen bonded to oxygen, and
- (b) consolidating the deposited material by means of a hot zone produced by a heat source external to the tube,
- characterized in that the method further comprises
- (c) replacing at least part of the hydrogen bonded to oxygen with deuterium in a deuterium/hydrogen exchange step carried out sbsequent to step (a).
1 more element
Method for fabrication of an optical fiber comprising glassy silica-based material, the method comprising
- (a) forming a tubular body by depositing silica-based glassy material in substantially porous, unconsolidated form on the inside surface of a tube comprising silica, at least part of the material of the tubular body containing hydrogen bonded to oxygen,
- (b) consolidating the deposited material by means of a hot zone produced by a heat source external to the tubular body,
- (c) drawing the optical fiber from a preform formed from the consolidated tubular body,
- characterized in that the method further comprises
- (d) exposing, prior to carrying out step (a), at least a part of the tube to an atmosphere having a partial pressure of at least about 10 Torr of deuterium, and maintaining at least substantially the part of the tube at a temperature above about 300 degrees C. for a period sufficient to result in substantial deuterium/hydrogen exchange in at least some of the material of the tube.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.