Fiber optic polishing system
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
InventorMichael Bramson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An optical glass fiber polishing apparatus and method utilizing a slurry prised of water, CeO, glycerin and where needed, a base such as NaOh, to realize transmission loss in the fiber as it is polished towards the fiber core. The intensity of light introduced at one end of the fiber is measured at the opposite end, continuously and without interruption of the polishing, to determine polishing progress through the cladding towards the core.
Claims8
A slurry for polishing an optical fiber having a core surrounded by cladding wherein said slurry, comprises:
- a binary liquid comprising water and another water soluble liquid ingredient having an index of refraction greater than water and greater than the core of the particular optical fiber being polished, the proportion of water to said other water soluble liquid ingredient being adjusted to yield an index of refraction for said binary liquid that is just less than that of said optical fiber core index of refraction;
- and
- an amount of CeO adequate to facilitate polishing and produce a transmission loss in the fiber over the region being polished of said fiber.
A slurry for polishing an optical fiber having a core surrounded by cladding wherein said slurry, comprises, by weight:
- 33.4% CeO
- 20.7% H.sub.2 O
- 45.9% glycerin
- and where the percentages of glycerin and water are each adjusted in relation to the other about the above percentages to obtain the slurry index of refraction slightly less than that for the core index of refraction of the optical glass fiber being polished.
An optical fiber polishing slurry, comprising, by weight:
- 20.2% H.sub.2 O
- 32.7% CeO
- 44.9% glycerin
- 2.2% NaOH
- and where the percentages of glycerin and water are each adjusted in relation to each other about the above percentages to obtain the slurry index of refraction slightly less than that for the core index of refraction of the glass fiber being polished.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.