Corning Incorporated

Joseph M Whalen

Daniel Warren Hawtof

David Lambie Tennent

Susan Lee Schiefelbein

Adam J G Ellison

Polly Wanda Chu

Wanda Janina Walczak

John Stone, Iii

Sabyasachi Sen

Douglas Edmon Goforth

Chukwuemeka Benneth Onuh

Tiffany L James

Claude E Lacy

Kintu O Early

Hazel B Matthews

The invention includes inventive methods of treating a soot preform. One method includes heating a soot preform to a temperature of less than about 1000&deg; C. and exposing the preform to a substantially halide free reducing agent. Preferred reducing agents include carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide. Another inventive method of treating the preform includes exposing the preform, in a furnace, to a substantially non-chlorine containing atmosphere comprising carbon monoxide. The preform is heated to a temperature of at least about 1000&deg; C. Preferably this method is incorporated into the process for making an optical fiber. An additional method of treating the preform includes doping the preform with fluorine and exposing the fluorine doped preform to a substantially chlorine free atmosphere comprising at least carbon monoxide at a temperature of at least 1100&deg; C., thereby reacting excess oxygen present in the furnace.

Treating an optical fiber preform with carbon monoxide

The present invention is directed to a system and method for delivering liquid reactants through a burner assembly to form soot used in the manufacture of glass, and in particular, optical waveguides. Due to the tendency of liquid reactants to react to form solids when exposed to water in the air, an evaporative liquid is first delivered through the burner assembly to the combustion zone. Once steady state liquid flow has been achieved in the system, the evaporative liquid is transitioned to the liquid reactant. The liquid reactant is delivered along the same path to the burner assembly, which discharges the liquid reactant into the combustion zone as an atomized liquid to form soot used in the manufacture of glass. Once the desired quantity of soot has been formed, the liquid reactant is transitioned back to the evaporative liquid while maintaining steady state flow. After the liquid reactant has cleared the system, flow of the evaporative liquid is terminated and the burner assembly flame turned off. Because the evaporative liquid is the last liquid to leave the burner assembly, no reactants are present to form solids and the burner assembly remains plug free. Preferably, the liquid reactants are housed within a dry environment to provide a reaction free area for staging the liquid reactants prior to delivery, thus facilitating and expediting multiple system runs with different liquid reactants.

Maintaining a plug-free system during a silica soot creation process

A method for making silica includes delivering a silica precursor comprising a pseudohalogen to a conversion site and passing the silica precursor through a flame to produce silica soot.

Method and feedstock for making silica

A method for making silica includes delivering a silica precursor comprising a perfluorinated group to a conversion site and passing the silica precursor through a conversion flame to produce silica soot.

Method and feedstock for making silica by flame combustion

Disclosed are optical gain fibers which include an erbium-containing core and a cladding surrounding the core and which have ripple of less than about 25% over about a 40 nm wide window or ripple of less than about 15% over about a 32 nm wide window, or both. In one embodiment, the optical gain fibers are pumpable at 980 nm and at 1480 nm. In another embodiment, the optical gain fibers are fusion sliceable. In yet another embodiment, the core includes oxides erbium; the cladding includes silicon dioxide; and the optical gain fiber has a passive loss of less than about 0.5% of the peak absorption of the erbium absorption band in the vicinity of 1530 nm. The optical gain fibers of the present invention have a wider gain window, improved flatness across the gain window, and/or increased gain as compared to conventional optical gain fibers. Accordingly, they are useful in amplifying optical signals, particularly signals which need to be repeatedly amplified over the course of a long-haul transmission, without losses in the signal quality that are commonly encountered in conventional optical signal amplifying methods.

Optical gain fibers

A method and apparatus for manufacturing optical components. A burner generates soot, and a surface area collector collects the soot. The burner is disposed such that the soot collected within the surface area collector is substantially not reheated by subsequently deposited soot. Magnetic forces direct the soot to desired location(s) within the surface area collector. The surface area collector operates at relatively low temperatures sufficient to retain rather volatile substances, such as fluorine, in the soot.

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Corning, NY, United States of America

Joseph M Whalen