The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 05, 1989
Filed:
Jan. 19, 1988
George J Collins, Fort Collins, CO (US);
John R McNeil, Albuquerque, NM (US);
Other;
Abstract
Apparatus for coating optical fibers with thin hermetic films based on cylindrical magnetron reactive sputtering and charged particle assisted deposition is disclosed. The thin film coated on the fiber is composed of material sputtered from a cylindrical cathode as well as material from reactive feedstock gases. The cylindrical cathode insures uniform deposited film thickness on a cylindrical fiber at high deposition rates. A cylindrical inner extraction grid acts to create ion or electron bombardment of the outer surface of the fiber as it is coated. As a consequence of the enclosed cylindrical geometry, the high magnetron sputtering rate, and the in-situ charged particle bombardment, hermetic coatings of high quality may be placed on fibers pulled through the deposition apparatus at rates of 1-20 meters/second. An external laser beam directed along the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical magnetron may be employed to improve the coating process.