Modified and furnace chemical vapour deposition (MCVD/FCVD) are widely-used methods for the fabrication of high-quality specialty fibre preforms. Now Nextrom, a supplier of systems for optical fibre manufacturing, says its OFC 12 MCVD/FCVD deposition system reduces the production costs of small-scale specialty fibre preforms.
The OFC 12 can be used to produce preforms with complex refractive index profiles and those preforms are then drawn to many different special fibre types, such as laser fibres, multimode fibres or sensor fibres. The modular construction also meets the requirements for silica fibre types.
The system is set up for small-scale and specialty fibre production, and is highly customisable. Tailored parameters include the number of bubblers (up to four), the number of additional gases (up to seven), different preform lengths (up to 1200mm), and the substrate tube outer diameter (20–42mm). The heat source can be selected as burner or a furnace, or even both.
To expand its application, the system can be combined with a high-temperature cabinet for the vapour phase doping process, which makes it possible to produce laser fibres without an additional process step. The vapour phase doping cabinet can process rare earth elements like aluminium, erbium and ytterbium.
The OFC 12 is reliable, easy to set up and low maintenance, the company claims. It exploits advanced process monitoring and online diameter control to optimise the yield, helping to reduce production costs.
The system has proven its reliability in industry, with more than 135 systems delivered to date, according to Nextrom.