Method of making optical waveguide preforms
AssigneeCorning Incorporated
InventorsA. Joseph Antos, Michael G. Blankenship
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Abstract
A vapor deposition method for making preforms from which optical waveguide fibers are drawn wherein at least a first precursor compound is oxidized at one oxidation site and at least a second precursor compound, which is different from the first precursor compound, is oxidized at a second oxidation site. The method is particularly applicable in cases where the first and second precursor compounds are chemically incompatible with one another or where the flow rate of the second precursor compound is substantially lower than the flow rate of the first precursor compound.
Claims20
A method for making a preform from which optical waveguide fiber is drawn, comprising
- a. generating a first vapor flow containing at least a first precursor,
- b. delivering said first vapor flow to a first oxidation site,
- c. oxidizing said first vapor flow to produce a first soot stream,
- d. directing said first soot stream toward a mandrel,
- e. collecting at least a portion of said first soot stream on said mandrel,
- f. generating a second vapor flow not containing said first precursor and containing at least a second precursor,
- g. directing said second vapor flow to a second oxidation site,
- h. oxidizing said second vapor flow to produce a second soot stream,
- i. directing said second soot stream toward said mandrel, and
- j. collecting at least a portion of said second soot stream on said mandrel.
A method for making an optical fiber preform from at least a first precursor compound and a second precursor compound, said second precursor compound being different from said first precursor compound, wherein a first vapor flow containing at least said first precursor compound is isolated from a second vapor flow until said first and second vapor flows have been oxidized into first and second soot particle streams, respectively,
- and wherein said second vapor flow does not contain said first precursor compound and contains at least said second precursor compound.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.