Material and technology trends in fiber optics

Abstract

The increasing fields of applications for modern optical fibers present great challenges to the material properties and the processing technology of fiber optics. This paper gives an overview of the capabilities and limitations of established vapor deposition fiber preform technologies, and discusses new techniques for improved and extended doping properties in fiber preparation. In addition, alternative fabrication technologies are discussed, such as a powder-based process (REPUSIL) and an optimized glass melting method to overcome the limits of conventional vapor deposition methods concerning the volume fabrication of rare earth (RE)-doped quartz and high silica glasses. The new preform technologies are complementary with respect to enhanced RE solubility, the adjustment of nonlinear fiber properties, and the possibility of hybrid fiber fabrication. The drawing technology is described based on the requirements of specialty fibers such as adjusted preform and fiber diameters, varying coating properties, and the microstructuring of fiber configurations as low as in the nanometer range.

Glass and Process Development for the Next Generation of Optical Fibers: A Review

“…The so-called REPUSIL (an acronym for "Reactive Powder Sintering of Silica") process, which was based on this powder sintering method, was developed by Heraeus Quartzglass and the Leibniz Institute of Photonics Technology (IPHT, Jena, Germany) [32]. This technique, the schematic of which can be found in [33], can be considered as a modification of the solution doping process. Starting materials are high-purity gas phase-formed silica nanoparticles and water-soluble compounds.…”

New refractive index profiles of dispersion-flattened highly nonlinear fibers for future all-optical signal processing in wdm optical networks

“…In both preform fabrication and fiber drawing stages, sophisticated technologies are involved to ensure the uniformity of the index profile and to preserve the core-cladding dimensions. Due to the precise control on deposition rate and pressure, PCVD technology [7,8,[18][19][20][21][22], can provide 100 % deposition efficiency and more accurate preform fabrication in fiber manufacturing technology Fig. 9 Variation of dispersion, dispersion slope and effective MFD as a function of wavelength for different core radii of Type 3 fiber Fig.…”

Numerical Investigation of Nanostructured Silica PCFs for Sensing Applications

“…7 All these drawbacks of SiO 2 material create a need for new materials for emerging fiber optic applications like NIR and MIR (3-6 lm) sensors, next generation communication systems in the 2.5-lm wavelength band, MIR fiber lasers, etc. 8,9 Many novel optical glasses like chalcogenide, tellurite and fluoride glasses offer enhanced performances, finding numerous applications in MIR wavelengths.…”

“…Future applications will rely on well-developed optical materials and technologies along with new, modified and special properties of optical fibers. 8 This paper investigates the effects of geometrical structure and infused materials to tune critical parameters of silica PCFs like operating wavelength, confinement loss, MFD and bandwidth. These parameters are very important in fiber-optic sensing applications as they affect the sensitivity, range and spatial coverage of the sensor.…”