Modified rod-in-tube for high-NA tellurite glass fiber fabrication: materials and technologies

In this paper, we report the whole fabrication process for high-numerical aperture (NA) tellurite glass fibers from material preparation to preform fabrication, and eventually, fiber drawing. A tellurite-based high-NA (0.9) magneto-optical glass fiber was drawn successfully and characterized. First, matchable core and cladding glasses were fabricated and matched in terms of physical properties. Second, a uniform bubble-free preform was fabricated by means of a modified rod-in-tube technique. Finally, the fiber drawing process was studied and optimized. The high-NA fibers (circle divide(core), 40- 50 mu m and circle divide(cladding), 120-130 mu m) so obtained were characterized for their geometrical and optical properties. (C) 2015 Optical Society of America