Several applications of optical fibres for sensor and telecommunications require the polymer jacket to be stripped from the fibre, e.g. for the inscription of Bragg gratings. Here, we report an alternative approach to chemical and mechanical fibre jacket stripping based on laser ablation. It is shown that excellent quality removal is possible using the ultraviolet excimer and infra-red CO2 laser, provided the latter is tuned to a suitably strong absorption band in the polymer. Characterization of the ablation properties of the acrylic jacket material, and the optical and mechanical properties of the stripped fibre are reported.

Thursday / 248 08.45 CThA3 Fibre optic jacket removal by pulsed laser ablation F &%a. P E ma, H V Snellmg M-mt of Phpica, Uolvcnmty ofHull. Hull, HU6 7 R x UK 0118Z4655Gt vl/G14824656G6fnx f b~h p i~s . b u U . m . n k K C Byno N o d pic. Harlou, Labaatones, London R o e Rarlow, Essex, CM 17 9NA. UK Excimer Iasas are currently u s d for h e ablation of polymers in a number of applications [I].Carbon dioxide lasers can also produce good quality efch features in polymers provided the laser wavelength is matched to a mong absorption band in the material [I]. In the present work the stripping of polymer jackets from fibre optic cables by pulsed ultraviolet and infrared laser ablation has been inbestigated, a technique which is closely analogous tu laser wlre 6 p p i n g [2]. There is interest in generating bare lengths of lelecomumcation fibres to facilitate acmss lo the cladding and core for a wide range of applications, including fabrication of Bragg Gratings wluch can act BT wavelenglb electors or sensors. Lsser shipping often possible advantages over chemical etching both in terms of the degree of control that can be exercised and from m mmnmental standpoint.The fibre optic cables studied weresupplied by Nom1 ple and were lypical of thosc used in single made telecommunication sy~tnns with a jacket d i m e m of 250 p and a cladding diameter of 125 p. The jacket material, a pmprietary acrylate, was obtained in liquid form and spun coated onto quartz and NaCl substrates to allow W and 1R absorption spectra to be measured At the .ArF laser wavelength (193 nm) the acrylate exhibited mong absorption and controlled l a w etching was passible at the sub micron p~ pulse level with excellent surface quahty. In the infrared an absorpilon band at 1081 cm-' WBS identified in the palyrner and good quahr) etching was achieved by tuning the TEA CO2 laser transition to be near coincidence with this band. Both these sysirms were studied using SEM microscopy and etch rate analysis For industrial applications it IS imparrant that the jacket stripping process does not compromise the trsnsmission or mechanical propetties of the fibre and experiments to measure these parameters are cumntly undmay. Td: +30 U1 391315, Far: +3081391318, e-mil: vninos@iesi.fonh gr Ultrafast laser microprinting is studied and presented. The microprinting technique utilised a femtosecond laser (h = 248 nm, r= 500 fsj, and an imaging system 10 induce ablation of metal or oxide of a Uun film ~ource, transparent supp~dfilm interface and forward it to a receiving surface in close-eontact as illustrated in f i g u n la. The investigation involves the ablative transfer of Cr and indium oxide materials. The receiving s~b~trates u r d were glass, Si and MgO (100). Parametric studies were performed to investigate the dependence of feature spread profiles on the laser flucnce and source film thickness.The optimal deposaed morphology in terms of spatial resolution, ablate dispersion and quality, was obtained with source thin-films of thickness withm the absorptm depth ...

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract