Optical fiber preform with improved air/glass interface structure
AssigneeOFS Fitel, LLC
InventorsRyan Bise, James W. Fleming, George J. Zydzik
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An optical fiber preform comprising a plurality of longitudinal air holes is subjected to a thermal treatment (i.e., heating), coupled with the application of a compressive force on either end of the heated preform to compress the entire preform structure a predetermined amount. The thermal compression treatment has been found to smooth any roughened glass surfaces and heal microcracks that may have formed during the preform fabrication process, essentially “knitting” the glass material back together and forming a preform of improved quality over the prior art microstructured preforms.
Claims12
A method for eliminating air-glass interface imperfections within a microstructured optical fiber preform, the method comprising the steps of:
- heating a selected portion of the longitudinal extent of a microstructured preform to a temperature sufficient for viscous flow to be initiated;
- and
- longitudinally compressing the heated, selected portion of said preform using a force to heal air-glass interface imperfections along the microstructured optical fiber preform.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.