fiber optic manufactoring

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Fiber Optics
FIBER MANUFACTURING

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Fiber Optics
Now that we know how fiber-optic systems work
and why they are useful -- how do they make
them? Optical fibers are made of extremely pure
optical glass.
We think of a glass window as transparent, but
the thicker the glass gets, the less transparent it
becomes due to impurities in the glass.

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Fiber Optics
However, the glass in an optical fiber has far
fewer impurities than window-pane glass, it is
99.9% pure.
One company's description of the quality of
glass is as follows: If you were on top of an
ocean that is miles of solid core optical fiber
glass, you could see the bottom clearly.

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Fiber Optics
Three methods are used to fabricate low loss
waveguide fibers:
MCVD: Modified chemical vapor deposition
OVD: Outside vapor deposition
VAD: Vapor axial deposition

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Fiber Optics
Making optical fibers requires the following
steps:
Making a preform glass cylinder
Drawing the fibers from the preform
Testing the fibers

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Fiber Optics
The (MCVD) Modified chemical vapor
deposition preforms are made by oxygen
bubbled through solutions of silicon chloride
(SiCl4), germanium chloride (GeCl4) and/or
other chemicals.

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Fiber Optics
The precise mixture governs the various
physical and optical properties (index of
refraction, coefficient of expansion, melting
point, etc.).
The gas vapors are then conducted to the inside
of a synthetic silica or quartz tube (cladding).

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Fiber Optics
A hollow glass tube 3 feet long and 1 inch in
diameter is placed in a horizontal lathe and spun
rapidly, as the lathe turns, a torch is moved up
and down the outside of the tube.

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Fiber Optics
Each pass of the heat source fuses a small amount of
the precipitated gas mixture to the surface of the tube.
Most of the gas is vaporized silicon dioxide (glass),
but there are carefully controlled amounts of dopants
(impurities) that cause changes in the index of
refraction of the glass.
The dopant mixture can be changed for each layer to
vary each index of refraction.

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Fiber Optics
After sufficient layers are built up the tube is
collapsed into a solid glass rod referred to as the
preform.

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Fiber Optics
The OVD (outside vapor deposition) method utilizes a
glass target rod that is placed in a chamber and sun
rapidly on a lathe.
A computer controlled mixture of gases is then passed
between the target rod and the heat source.

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Fiber Optics
On each pass of the heat source, a small amount of
the gas reacts and fuses to the outer surface of the
rod.
After enough layers are built up, the target rod is
removed and the remaining soot preform is collapsed
into a solid rod.
The preform is then taken to a tower and pulled into
fiber.

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Fiber Optics
The VAD (vapor axial deposition) process utilizes a
very short glass target rod suspended by one end.
A computer controlled
mixture of gases is
applied between
the end of the
rod and the heat
source.

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Fiber Optics
The heat source is slowly backed off as the preform
lengthens due to tile soot buildup caused by gases
reacting to the heat and fusing to the end of the rod.
After sufficient length is formed, the target rod is
removed from the end, leaving the soot preform.
The preform is then taken to the drawing tower to be
heated and pulled into the required fiber length.

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Fiber Optics
The fiber drawing tower.

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Fiber Optics
The blank gets lowered into a graphite furnace
(3,452 to 3,992 degrees Fahrenheit or 1,900 to
2,200 degrees Celsius) and the tip gets melted
until a molten glob falls down by gravity.
As it drops, it cools and forms a thread.

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Fiber Optics
The firing process in the draw tower.

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Fiber Optics
The operator threads the strand through a series
of coating cups (buffer coatings) and ultraviolet
light curing ovens onto a tractor-controlled spool.

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Fiber Optics
The tractor mechanism slowly pulls the fiber
from the heated preform blank and is precisely
controlled by using a laser micrometer to
measure the diameter of the fiber and feed the
information back to the tractor mechanism.

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Fiber Optics
Fibers are pulled from the blank at a rate of 33 to
66 ft/s (10 to 20 m/s) and the finished product is
wound onto the spool.
It is not uncommon for spools to contain more
than 1.4 miles (2.2 km) of optical fiber.

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Fiber Optics
Tensile strength - Must withstand 100,000 lb/in2
or more.
Refractive index profile - Determine numerical
aperture as well as screen for optical defects.
Fiber geometry - Core diameter, cladding
dimensions and coating diameter are uniform.

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Fiber Optics
Attenuation - Determine the extent that light
signals of various wavelengths degrade over
distance.
Information carrying capacity (bandwidth) -
Number of signals that can be carried at one
time (multi-mode fibers).
Chromatic dispersion - Spread of various
wavelengths of light through the core (important
for bandwidth).

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Fiber Optics
Operating temperature/humidity range.
Temperature dependence of attenuation.
Ability to conduct light underwater - Important for
undersea cables.