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3-D Printing Optical Fiber

Molly Moser X Researchers used 3-D printing to make preforms for a step-index fiber (a) and a structured preform (b). These preforms were then placed in a draw tower (right) to make the final optical fiber. [Image: John Canning, University of Technology Sydney] The entire global telecommunications network, not to mention the ever-expanding Internet-of-Things (IOT), is tied together with string—silica optical fiber. Manufacturing this crucial connector is a laborious process, one that a research team in Australia believes it may have re-invented. Researchers at the University of Technology Sydney and the University of New South Wales have demonstrated a way to 3-D print a glass preform for fabricating glass optical fiber (Opt. Lett., doi: 10.1364/OL.44.005358). This method, according to the team, simplifies fiber production as well as enabling both novel fiber designs and applications. The art of drawing fiber Silica optical fiber has a multitude of applications, but it’s expensive and labor-intensive to make. It comprises two parts: the fiber core that carries light, and the cladding that traps the light in the core as it travels through the fiber. In order to minimize loss and keep the light trapped in the core, the fiber core must have a higher refractive index than the fiber cladding. Conventional methods of constructing the preform through which optical fiber can be drawn require spinning a hollow tube of glass with a carefully controlled refractive index profile on a lathe over a heat source. It’s essential that the fiber geometry is precisely centered during this process. 3-D printing the preform instead is thus a very attractive alternative—one that several members of the Australian team have been working toward for a while. Several years ago, the team successfully demonstrated the first fiber drawn from a 3-D-printed polymer preform. Applying this additive-manufacturing technique to glass, however, presents a tricky manufacturing challenge, as 3-D printing glass requires temperatures of more than 1900 °C. Researchers shone green light through the final optical fiber and measured loss. The orange inset shows a fiber cross-section. [Image: John Canning, University of Technology Sydney] Printing glass To apply the approach to glass, the team behind the latest study added silica nanoparticles into the photo-curable resin. The researchers then used direct-light projection (DLP) to 3-D print the cladding preform with UV light at 385 nm, and poured a clever mixture of polymer and silica nanoparticles—this time doped with germanosilicate—into the hollow, cylindrical preform. The addition of the germanosilicate to the core resin upped the refractive index. To overcome the heat quandary, the researchers applied a thermal debinding process. The debinding sloughs off the polymer and other impurities, leaving the silica nanoparticles behind, which are held together by intermolecular forces. Kicking up the heat even more, the researchers then fused the nanoparticles into a solid structure that could be inserted into a draw tower to be molded into the optical fiber. According to the team, the end result was the first silica fibers drawn from 3-D-printed preforms. Scattering and next steps To test the quality of the first-of-its-kind fiber, the researchers shone 532-nm green light through 2 meters of both single-mode and multimode fiber—and measured significant loss. But while the team concedes that there is “considerable scope to improve the transmission properties of this fiber,” the researchers also believe that the relative ease with which the fiber was created could make the technique a game changer for future fiber fabrication. In particular, the team suspects that this new method could enable the production of incredibly complex multicore and multi-shaped fiber designs for previously unrealizable applications. According to a press release accompanying the work, the researchers are interested in partnering with a fiber manufacturer to improve and eventually commercialize the technology.

Optical fiber unit solution

Optical fiber unit solution

Release time:

2022-12-20 10:35


Fiber Unit Solutions
· Modular design meets current requirements and future expansion requirements
· Whole-process curvature radius control 
· Applicable to 19' (48.26 cm) rack or cabinet installation, and can be applied to 23' rack installation by adjusting the position of the side ears
· Different types of units The box has a variety of capacity options, including: rotary, guide rail and pull-out type
. Suitable for ribbon and non-ribbon optical cables
. Compatible with FC, SC, LC, ST, and dual LC optical interfaces
 
 
 
· Rack mount unit
 
 

FTR-P04B(C) series welding/wiring/fiber storage  FTR-P04D series welding/wiring/fiber storage  FTR-P05(A) and STR-P05 series welding; wiring; welding and wiring; fiber storage  FTR- P06 series welding and wiring  FTR-P10 series welding and wiring  MFTR-P03 series welding and wiring  MFTR-P04 series welding and wiring  MFTR-P06A series welding; welding and wiring

 
 
 
· Unit box for wall mounting
 
 

MFC series 12-48 core optical fiber distribution box  MFC series 96 core optical fiber distribution box  GP01& GP02 series terminal box

 
 
 
· Unit box accessories
 

Adapter strip  fusion integrated module  fusion protection sleeve