Method of fabricating microstructured optical fibers

Abstract

A method of fabricating a microstructured optical fiber is described in which a plurality of solid silica wafers are generated corresponding to longitudinally consecutive portions of the optical fiber, separately etched with void patterns in a lithographic process, and bonded together into a preform. The preform is then drawn to form the optical fiber. The lithographic process used to form the void patterns in the wafers may be any of several processes currently or prospectively used in VLSI fabrication. Such lithographic process may be used because the wafers comprise silica glass or other material common in VLSI devices and, in accordance with a preferred embodiment, are generated with thicknesses highly amenable to such fabrication methods. The wafers are preferably generated by creating a preliminary preform having the desired material refractive index profile using conventional preform fabrication methods, the wafers then being sliced from the preliminary preform. Other methods such as flame hydrolysis process or a chemical vapor deposition process may also be used to generate the wafers.