Fiber Optic Center Technical Paper: Specialty and Polarization-Maintaining Fibers Explained Specialty Fiber Explained - “Discusses the wide range of specialty fibers, and special issues encountered in the preform and draw process.” Optical Fiber Draw...
This article continues FOC’s latest series on optical fiber manufacturing processes, providing an overview of coatings for a wide range of standard communication and specialty optical fibers. The main job of coatings is to protect the glass fiber, but there are...
In this article, the latest in FOC’s series covering specialty fibers and their fabrication, we discuss polarization-maintaining (PM) fibers and the various approaches used to make them. There are several PM fiber designs – all quite different and each with its...
This article continues FOC’s series on specialty optical fibers. An article posted in January 2021, Fabricating Doped Fiber Preforms, discussed problems encountered in making preforms for specialty fibers. The article below focuses on the second part of the...
Since 2018, FOC has provided more than 10 articles on making fiber and preforms. One series of seven articles, launched in January 2018 and written by Larry Donalds, focuses on MCVD technology and issues in making preforms. The second series, started in July 2020 and...
Fiber Optic Center technical Paper: Optical Fiber Preform Preparation, Design and Control Controlling the Optical Fiber Preform Deposition Process Preparing to Manufacture an Optical Fiber Preform Critical Design Goals to Manufacture Optical Fiber Preforms Attention...
Fiber Optic Center technical Paper: MCVD Comparisons, Options and Tips Author: Larry Donalds Comparing the 2 types of MCVD gas delivery systems to manufacture optical preforms: Stainless steel and Teflon/glass MCVD Options: These add-on features can enhance your...
Companies like SG Controls offer stainless-steel, water-cooled burners with nitrogen curtains to reduce the hot zone width, which prevents preform sagging during collapse. Adjustable flow nitrogen jets on the outside edges of the burner blow against the tube to...
You do not need to purchase an expensive blackbody unit. Instead, purchase a hand-held standard that is calibrated with a blackbody standard. In addition, you could temporarily mount the hand-held pyrometer on the fire carriage to spot-check the process pyrometer...
As we all know, the internal temperature of the deposition tube is what matters, since the reaction is occurring on the inside. However, the process pyrometer is reading the external temperature. SG Controls offers a diameter control system, which controls and...
“Trial and error.” These two words sum up my 24 years developing and manufacturing specialty preforms and fibers where I operated an MCVD gas delivery system. Our team was constantly testing new ideas to improve fiber strength and yield as well as the...
You can manufacture optical fiber preforms with a very basic system, essentially a gas delivery system in a room with an MCVD lathe. Or you can enhance your system by adding many accessories that will improve fiber strength and yield as well as the reproducibility of...
The lathe, rotary seal, optical pyrometer, deposition burner, and diameter control system all must work together to successfully manufacture a preform. In the following paragraphs, I offer recommendations based on my years developing and manufacturing specialty...
Purchasing high-purity raw materials is critical to manufacturing quality preforms. How we handle our materials, tools, and equipment is equally important. For example, properly purging gas cylinder connections, properly filling reagent bubblers, and properly cleaning...
As we all know, high-purity raw materials are critical to achieve design goals. Low metallic impurities prevent reflective loses, and dry raw materials prevent absorptions. In addition, there are many design tactics to meet cutoff wavelength, mode field diameter...
