"Gleb Wataghin" Institute of Physics, University of Campinas, Campinas, 13083-859, Brazil.
Institute of Photonics & Advanced Sensing, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA5005, Australia.
Sci Rep. 2020 Jun 15;10(1):9678. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-66632-3.
Manufacturing optical fibers with a microstructured cross-section relies on the production of a fiber preform in a multiple-stage procedure, and drawing of the preform to fiber. These processes encompass the use of several dedicated and sophisticated equipment, including a fiber drawing tower. Here we demonstrate the use of a commercial table-top low-cost filament extruder to produce optical fibers with complex microstructure in a single step - from the pellets of the optical material directly to the final fiber. The process does not include the use of an optical fiber drawing tower and is time, electrical power, and floor space efficient. Different fiber geometries (hexagonal-lattice solid core, suspended core and hollow core) were successfully fabricated and their geometries evaluated. Air guidance in a wavelength range where the fiber material is opaque was shown in the hollow core fiber.
制造具有微结构横截面的光纤依赖于在多步程序中生产光纤预制件，并将预制件拉成光纤。这些过程包括使用几种专用且复杂的设备，包括光纤拉丝塔。在这里，我们展示了使用商业台式低成本灯丝挤出机在单个步骤中生产具有复杂微观结构的光纤 - 直接从光学材料的颗粒到最终的纤维。该过程不包括使用光纤拉丝塔，并且在时间、电力和占地面积方面具有效率。成功制造了不同的光纤几何形状（六方晶格实心芯、悬芯和空心芯），并对其几何形状进行了评估。在纤维材料不透明的波长范围内，空心芯光纤中显示出空气引导。
