Abstract
A glass-ceramic optical fiber containing Ba2TiSi2O8 nanocrystals fabricated using a novel combination of the melt-in-tube method and successive heat treatment is reported for the first time. For the melt-in-tube method, fibers act as a precursor at the drawing temperature for which the cladding glass is softened while the core glass is melted. It is demonstrated experimentally that following heat treatment, Ba2TiSi2O8 nanocrystals with diameters below 10 nm are evenly distributed throughout the fiber core. Comparing to the conventional rod-in-tube method, the melt-in-tube method is superior in terms of controllability of crystallization to allow for the fabrication of low loss glass-ceramic fibers. When irradiated using a 1030 nm femtosecond laser, an enhanced green emission at a wavelength of 515 nm is observed in the glass-ceramic fiber, which demonstrates second harmonic generation of a laser action in the fabricated glass-ceramic fibers. Therefore, this new glass-ceramic fiber not only provides a highly promising development for frequency conversion of lasers in all optical fiber based networks, but the melt-in-tube fabrication method also offers excellent opportunities for fabricating a wide range of novel glass-ceramic optical fibers for multiple future applications including fiber telecommunications and lasers.
Highlights
Ni2+- doped GC fiber[23], Cr4+-doped forsterite GC fiber[24], and other GC fiber have been reported[25]
The fabrication techniques of these GC fibers were mostly based on a rod-in-tube method, in which the fiber core and clad glass are similar in composition, and the fiber is drawn near the softening temperature of fiber core glass
The GC optical fibers were prepared using the melt-in-tube method followed by a subsequent thermal treatment, and the harmful consequences of crystallization can be completely avoided because all precipitated crystals are dissolved during the melt-in-tube process
Summary
Ni2+- doped GC fiber[23], Cr4+-doped forsterite GC fiber[24], and other GC fiber have been reported[25]. The crystals in the fiber core glass grow rapidly because the crystallization barrier of glass component is low at the softening temperature. This crystallization process is uncontrollable, and the sizes of the resulting crystals are so large that the scattering of particles with different refractive indices in the glass matrix can become significant. The novel fibers fabricated using this method were characterized using electro-probe micro-analyzer (EPMA) imaging, Micro-Raman spectrum analysis and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) imaging techniques. Using these techniques the element distribution and microstructures were accurately identified. The SHG of the laser action in the GC optical fiber was demonstrated by measuring the emission spectra when irradiated using a 1030 nm femtosecond laser
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