Fiber bragg gratings in carbon-coated optical fibers and techniques for making same
AssigneeOFS Fitel, LLC
InventorsAdam Hokansson, David J Kudelko, Yaowen Li, Joanna Y Ng, Debra A Simoff
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Abstract
A technique is described for fabricating one or more optical devices in a carbon-coated optical fiber. A photosensitive optical fiber is provided having a hermetic carbon coating. Further provided is a laser having a beam output that is configured to inscribe one or more refractive index modulations into the optical fiber through the hermetic carbon layer while leaving the hermetic carbon layer intact. The laser is used to inscribe one or more optical devices into the optical fiber through the hermetic carbon layer.
Claims12
A method for fabricating one or more optical devices in a carbon-coated optical fiber, comprising:
- providing a photosensitive optical fiber having a hermetic carbon coating and an outer coating over the hermetic carbon coating, wherein the outer coating has an ultraviolet absorption that is sufficiently low so as to allow an ultraviolet laser to inscribe one or more optical devices into the fiber through the outer coating and the carbon coating;
- providing a laser having a beam output that is configured to inscribe one or more refractive index modulations into the optical fiber through the hermetic carbon layer and the outer coating while leaving the hermetic carbon layer and the outer coating intact;
- and
- using the laser to inscribe one or more optical devices into the optical fiber through the hermetic carbon layer and the outer coating.
A method for fabricating a photosensitive, carbon-coated optical fiber, comprising:
- doping a fiber to have a high degree of photosensitivity;
- applying a hermetic carbon coating to the fiber cladding;
- and
- applying an outer coating over the hermetic carbon coating,
- wherein the outer coating has an ultraviolet absorption that is sufficiently low so as to allow the one or more optical devices to be inscribed into the fiber, in a post-secondary-coating process, through the outer coating and the carbon coating, using an ultraviolet laser.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.