Mechanical and Optical Properties of Silica Glass Optical Fiber with Low-Expansion Glass-Ceramic Jacket

Abstract

Novel silica glass single-mode optical fibers (SMFs) directly bonded with a low-expansion glass-ceramic jacket have been fabricated. Jacketing was performed by drawing a Li₂O-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ glass-ceramic preform. The SMF with glass-ceramic jacket (GC-SMF) exhibited a bending strength of 750MPa, suitable for optical connecting components. The dimensional accuracy of GC-SMF with a 0.56-mm-thick glass-ceramic jacket was within the range of 1.4μm in both roundness and concentricity, which are also adequate for optical connecting components. GC-SMF showed single-mode optical propagation with a small propagation loss at a wavelength of 1.3μm. The optical performance of GC-SMF was maintained even after heat treatment at 750°C for 1h, showing excellent high-temperature resistance, approximately 500°C higher than that of conventional SMF assemblies with organic adhesives. GC-SMF is regarded as a promising candidate for high-temperature-resistant optical connecting components, which are applicable to recently developed high-power optical communication systems.