Custom fibers
We can develop optical fibers to customer specifications. For almost all fibers this means a 'preform' must first be manufactured. A preform is a silica rod with a core and cladding usually a few centimeters in diameter. The relative sizes of core and cladding are maintained when the fiber is drawn in the drawing tower, albeit at a much smaller diameter in the fiber. Depending on the size of the preform and the size of the fiber, a length a fiber can be produced ranging from a few hundred to several thousand meters.We can make custom designed fibers across a very wide range of fiber types. Relatively simple changes to existing fiber types such as a non standard diameter in the HPSUV and HPSIR types of fiber or a single mode fiber with a different cut-off wavelength are easily achieved. We require only that a minimum fiber quantity is ordered to allow us to make sensible use of the preform described above.
More serious custom designs can be undertaken and we have designed several types of specialized fibers specifically for customers. These range across a wide range of fiber types but some examples are shown below.
High refractive index fiber
The refractive index of silica is approximately 1.45. A high refractive index fiber of 1.65 is available. This can be useful for fiber sensors.Low N.A. step index fiber
Low NA step index fibers are available. Index can be varied. A typical value is 0.1 (others available to order) and has several applications including entertainment laser delivery, astronomy, special fiber sensors etc.High birefringence fiber with different beat lengths
Some sensor designs can benefit from a different beat length to the standard shown earlier in the brochure.Low birefringence fibers
We have made a number of types of these fibers to customer requirements. Please call us if you need a different specification to that shown in the data.Special doped fibers
We have made a number of different types of doped fibers using a variety of different dopants. Applications include fiber lasers and special fiber sensors.