Growth of Sapphire Fibers with a CO Laser

Abstract

The objective of this program was to explore ways to increase the growth rate of optical quality sapphire fibers produced by the Laser Heated Pedestal Growth (LHPG) technique. Prior to this program, the maximum rate at which this could be accomplished was 3-4 mm/min. When the latter rate was exceeded, the transmission of the fiber rapidly deteriorated. The cause of the degradation was thought to be the increasing disturbance by convection currents in the molten zone. To reduce the severity of the latter, we proposed to examine the use of a different wavelength of the laser heat source and the modification of the spatial profile of the laser beam to heat the molten zone more uniformly. In the standard implementation of LHPG a CO2 laser with output in the 9-10 micrometers region is used.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 30, 1994
Accession Number
ADA281043

Entities

People

  • Nicholas Djeu

Organizations

  • University of South Florida

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Atmospheres
  • Birds
  • Capillary Tubes
  • Carbon Dioxide Lasers
  • Carbon Monoxide Lasers
  • Convection
  • Diameters
  • Heat Energy
  • Laser Beams
  • Lasers
  • Optical Lattices
  • Radiation
  • Reflectors
  • Sapphire
  • Surface Tension
  • Universities

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Combustion and Flow Dynamics.
  • Mathematics or Statistics
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy