Device and method for preparing soft glass optical fiber preform
Technical Field
The invention belongs to the technical field of soft glass optical fiber preparation, and particularly relates to a soft glass optical fiber preform preparation device and a preparation method.
Background
The mid-infrared band of 3-5 microns has important application and research values in the fields of biomedicine, environmental monitoring, atmospheric remote sensing, military countermeasure and the like. The most widely applied quartz glass optical fiber is limited by the high phonon energy (1100 cm -1) per se, so that the transmission loss of the quartz optical fiber after the wavelength is more than 2.3 mu m is increased sharply, and the quartz optical fiber cannot be applied to the generation and transmission of the 3-5 mu m mid-infrared band laser. Soft glass optical fibers represented by fluorine tellurate glass optical fibers, fluoride glass optical fibers and chalcogenide glass optical fibers gradually become ideal gain media of mid-infrared optical fiber lasers by virtue of low phonon energy, high rare earth ion doping concentration and the like.
The quality of an optical fiber preform, which is used as a base material for optical fiber drawing, directly determines the quality of the optical fiber. The high-quality optical fiber preform has the advantages of high glass purity, good concentricity and low defect rate, so that the final optical fiber has low loss and high transmission rate. At present, the preparation method of the soft glass optical fiber mainly comprises a double crucible method and a preform method. The double crucible method needs the molten glass to be in a molten state for a long time in the process of preparing the optical fiber, so that the requirement on the stability of the glass is high, in addition, bubbles and crystallization phenomena are easy to exist at the interface of the optical fiber core package, and the optical fiber loss is increased. The preform method mainly comprises a drilling method, an extrusion method, a coil method and a suction injection method. The drilling method can produce optical fibers with arbitrary core-cladding ratio and arbitrary cross-sectional shape, but cannot cope with the problem of impurity pollution at the interface between the fiber core and the cladding, so that it is difficult to obtain optical fibers with low loss. The extrusion method can prepare the optical fiber with any core-in-package proportion and any cross-section structure through designing a die, but a common ceramic die is usually disposable, so that the cost is high, and secondary heating in the extrusion process is easy to cause crystallization of glass. The coil method reduces impurity pollution between the fiber core and the cladding to a certain extent, but a tiny gap exists between the fiber core and the cladding, so that residual air is difficult to remove during fiber drawing, and the optical performance of the fiber is affected. The suction injection method is a process method with potential at present, mainly relies on manual operation, and by sequentially pouring cladding glass liquid and fiber core glass liquid in a molten state into a mould, when the viscosity of the glass liquid reaches a proper state by utilizing the expansion and contraction effect, the mould is manually lifted by manpower, and the fiber core glass liquid with low viscosity positioned in the center of the mould enters the cladding glass liquid under the effect of the cladding suction force, so that the fiber preform with a core-cladding interface is formed.
However, the conventional suction injection method still has some technical difficulties in preparing the optical fiber preform. On one hand, the taper length formed when the fiber core glass liquid enters the cladding glass liquid is shorter, so that the material utilization rate is lower, and on the other hand, the cast preform is easy to generate defects such as bubbles, and the concentricity of the preform is difficult to control accurately. In order to solve these problems, the process flow and the preparation device of the suction injection method still need to be further optimized so as to improve the material utilization rate and the optical performance of the preform.
Disclosure of Invention
In order to solve the problems of low utilization rate of glass liquid materials, poor quality and concentricity of optical fiber preforms and the like caused by high cooling speed of glass liquid in the prior art, the invention provides a soft glass optical fiber preform preparation device and a soft glass optical fiber preform preparation method which can improve the utilization rate of glass liquid, improve the quality and concentricity of optical fiber preforms and are suitable for molds with different mold cavity diameters.
The technical scheme includes that the soft glass optical fiber preform preparation device comprises fiber core glass and cladding glass, the soft glass optical fiber preform preparation device comprises a base, a first driving unit, a second driving unit, a die, a heating furnace and a control unit, wherein an upright guide rail is arranged on one side of the base, the guide rail is in sliding connection with a supporting arm, the supporting arm is connected with the output end of the first driving unit, the first driving unit is used for driving the supporting arm to move up and down, a furnace shell of the heating furnace is connected with the output end of the second driving unit, the second driving unit is used for driving the heating furnace to incline left and right, the die is fixed in a hearth, the upper opening of the die is used for shaping a poured cladding glass liquid and fiber core glass liquid to obtain the soft glass optical fiber preform, the heating furnace is used for heating and insulating the die, and the control unit is used for controlling the operation temperature of the first driving unit and the second driving unit and the heating furnace.
The preparation device of the soft glass optical fiber preform rod can realize high-efficiency and high-quality preparation of the soft glass optical fiber preform rod. In the process of preparing the soft glass optical fiber preform, the heating furnace is used for heating and preserving heat of the mold, cooling of the glass liquid poured in the mold is delayed, more fiber core glass liquid is ensured to be sucked into the cladding glass liquid, so that the optical fiber preform with longer taper length is formed, the utilization rate of the glass liquid is improved, and the heating furnace and the mold are synchronously inclined, and the cladding glass liquid and the fiber core glass liquid are respectively poured in the inclined state of the two sides of the mold, so that bubbles generated in the pouring process can be effectively reduced, the optical fiber preform with higher quality is obtained, and the problem of insufficient concentricity of the fiber core and the cladding of the optical fiber preform is solved.
Preferably, the first driving unit comprises a first motor, a screw rod and a screw nut, an upper mounting plate and a lower mounting plate are fixed on one side of the base, the upper mounting plate and the lower mounting plate are respectively located above and below the guide rail, the screw rod is vertically installed on the upper mounting plate and the lower mounting plate, the first motor is vertically installed on the lower side of the lower mounting plate, the first motor is controlled by the control unit, an output shaft of the first motor is connected with the screw rod, the screw nut is in threaded connection with the screw rod, and the screw nut is fixed on the support arm.
Preferably, the second driving unit comprises a second motor, the second motor is horizontally arranged on the supporting arm, the second motor is controlled by the control unit, and an output shaft of the second motor is connected with the furnace shell.
Preferably, a clamping groove is formed in the inlet of the hearth of the heating furnace, a buckle matched with the clamping groove is fixed at the top of the die, and the clamping groove is used for clamping the buckle.
Preferably, the die is formed by radially splicing a plurality of modules, the die cavity of the die is cylindrical, and the top of the die cavity is connected with a conical liquid guide groove with a large upper opening and a small lower opening.
Preferably, the bottom of the die cavity is connected with a conical liquid storage tank with a small upper opening and a large lower opening.
Preferably, a slide block is fixed on one side of the supporting arm, and the slide block is slidably connected with the guide rail.
Preferably, the base comprises a base and a main board, the main board is vertically fixed on the base, the guide rail is arranged on one side of the main board, an upper limit switch and a lower limit switch are arranged on one side of the main board, the upper limit switch and the lower limit switch are arranged at two limit positions of the up-and-down movement stroke of the support arm, and an induction rod matched with the upper limit switch and the lower limit switch is fixed on the support arm.
The preparation method of the soft glass optical fiber preform by using the preparation device comprises the following steps:
(1) The heating furnace is adjusted to a horizontal position through the second driving unit, the die is fixed in the hearth, and then the temperature of the heating furnace is increased to a preset temperature;
(2) Tilting the heating furnace to the left to a preset angle through the second driving unit, pouring cladding glass liquid in a molten state into the mold from the left side of the mold, tilting the heating furnace to the right to the preset angle through the second driving unit, and pouring fiber core glass liquid in the molten state into the mold from the right side of the mold;
(3) And restoring the heating furnace to a horizontal position through the second driving unit, synchronously moving the supporting arm and the heating furnace to a preset position through the first driving unit, enabling the fiber core glass liquid to flow into the cladding glass liquid, and shaping in the die after cooling to obtain the soft glass optical fiber preform with the core-cladding structure.
Preferably, in the step (1), the temperature of the heating furnace is raised to 50-600 ℃, in the step (2), the angle ranges of the heating furnace tilting leftwards and rightwards are 0-90 degrees, in the step (3), the upward moving speed of the supporting arm and the heating furnace is 1-30 mm/s, and the upward moving travel range is 1-70 cm.
Compared with the prior art, the device and the method for preparing the soft glass optical fiber perform have the advantages that the soft glass optical fiber perform can be prepared with high efficiency and high quality. In the process of preparing the soft glass optical fiber preform, the heating furnace is used for heating and preserving heat of the mold, cooling of the glass liquid poured in the mold is delayed, more fiber core glass liquid is ensured to be sucked into the cladding glass liquid, so that the optical fiber preform with longer taper length is formed, the utilization rate of the glass liquid is improved, and the heating furnace and the mold are synchronously inclined, and the cladding glass liquid and the fiber core glass liquid are respectively poured in the inclined state of the two sides of the mold, so that bubbles generated in the pouring process can be effectively reduced, the optical fiber preform with higher quality is obtained, and the problem of insufficient concentricity of the fiber core and the cladding of the optical fiber preform is solved. The soft glass optical fiber preform preparation device is generally used for dies with different die cavity diameters so as to produce optical fiber preforms with different taper lengths and different thicknesses, and has the remarkable advantages of high efficiency and flexibility.
Drawings
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the appearance of a soft glass optical fiber preform manufacturing apparatus in examples 1 and 2;
Fig. 2 is a schematic view showing a state in which the heating furnace is in the horizontal position in embodiment 1 and embodiment 2;
Fig. 3 is a schematic view showing a state in which the heating furnace is inclined to the left by 45 ° in examples 1 and 2;
fig. 4 is a schematic view showing a state in which the heating furnaces are inclined rightward by 45 ° in examples 1 and 2;
FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the structure of a mold in example 1 in perspective;
FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing the structure of a mold in example 2 in perspective;
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an optical fiber drawn from the soft glass optical fiber preform prepared in example 3;
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of an optical fiber drawn from the soft glass optical fiber preform prepared in example 4;
Specific reference numerals in the drawings are as follows:
The device comprises a base 11-seat, a main board 12-seat, an upper mounting plate 13-seat, a lower mounting plate 14-seat, an upper limit switch 15-seat, a lower limit switch 16-seat, a 2-guide rail, a 21-slider, a 3-support arm, a 31-induction rod, a 4-mold, a 41-buckle, a 42-mold cavity, a 43-conical liquid guide groove, a 44-conical liquid storage groove, a 5-heating furnace, a 51-resistance wire, a 52-furnace chamber, a 53-clamping groove, a 6-first motor, a 61-screw rod, a 62-screw nut, a 7-second motor and an 8-control unit.
Detailed Description
The invention is described in further detail below with reference to the embodiments of the drawings. The components, structures, etc. not defined in the present invention are all conventional in the art.
Embodiment 1A soft glass optical fiber preform preparation device comprises a fiber core glass and a cladding glass, wherein the soft glass optical fiber preform comprises a fiber core glass and a cladding glass, as shown in fig. 1, the preparation device comprises a base, a first driving unit, a second driving unit, a die 4, a heating furnace 5 and a control unit 8, the base comprises a base 11 and a main board 12, the main board 12 is vertically fixed on the base 11, a vertical guide rail 2 is arranged on one side of the main board 12, the guide rail 2 is in sliding connection with a sliding block 21, the sliding block 21 is fixed on one side of a supporting arm 3, the supporting arm 3 is connected with the output end of the first driving unit, the first driving unit is used for driving the supporting arm 3 to move up and down, the furnace shell of the heating furnace 5 is connected with the output end of the second driving unit, the second driving unit is used for driving the heating furnace 5 to incline left and right, the die 4 is fixed in a hearth 52, the upper part of the die 4 is used for shaping the poured cladding glass liquid and the fiber core glass liquid to obtain the soft glass optical fiber preform, the heating furnace 5 is heated by adopting a resistance wire 51, the heating furnace 5 is used for heating the die 4, the temperature of the heating furnace 4 is used for heating and preserving heat of the die 4 to control unit is used for controlling the temperature of the first driving unit and the second driving unit.
In the embodiment 1, the first driving unit comprises a first motor 6, a screw rod 61 and a screw 62, an upper mounting plate 13 and a lower mounting plate 14 are fixed on one side of a main plate 12, the upper mounting plate 13 and the lower mounting plate 14 are respectively positioned above and below a guide rail 2, the screw rod 61 is vertically arranged on the upper mounting plate 13 and the lower mounting plate 14, the first motor 6 is vertically arranged on the lower side of the lower mounting plate 14, the first motor 6 is controlled by a control unit 8, an output shaft of the first motor 6 is connected with the screw rod 61, the screw 62 is in threaded connection with the screw rod 61, the screw 62 is fixed on a supporting arm 3, an upper limit switch 15 and a lower limit switch 16 are arranged on one side of the main plate 12, the upper limit switch 15 and the lower limit switch 16 are arranged at two limit positions of the up-down movement stroke of the supporting arm 3, an induction rod 31 matched with the upper limit switch 15 and the lower limit switch 16 is fixed on the supporting arm 3, the second driving unit comprises a second motor 7, the second motor 7 is horizontally arranged on the supporting arm 3, the second motor 7 is controlled by the control unit 8, and an output shaft of the second motor 7 is connected with a furnace shell.
In embodiment 1, a clamping groove 53 is provided at the entrance of a hearth 52 of a heating furnace 5, a buckle 41 adapted to the clamping groove 53 is fixed at the top of a mold 4, the clamping groove 53 is used for clamping the buckle 41, specifically, as shown in fig. 5, the mold 4 is formed by radially splicing a plurality of modules, the outer diameter of the mold 4 is 50mm, the inner diameter is 15mm, the total height is 150mm, a mold cavity 42 of the mold 4 is cylindrical, and a conical liquid guide groove 43 with a large upper opening and a small lower opening is connected at the top of the mold cavity 42 so as to better guide glass liquid into the mold cavity 42 of the mold 4.
The apparatus for preparing a soft glass optical fiber preform of embodiment 2 is different from embodiment 1 in that the mold 4 is structurally different, specifically, as shown in fig. 6, a tapered liquid storage tank 44 with a small upper opening and a large lower opening is connected to the bottom of the mold cavity 42 to receive more cladding glass liquid, and the liquid storage tank 44 has a height of 30mm, an upper opening diameter of 15mm and a lower opening diameter of 30mm.
Example 3 preparation of a soft glass optical fiber preform by the preparation apparatus of example 1, a clad glass and a core glass were prepared as an optical fiber preform, wherein the clad glass had a composition of 60TeO 2-20ZnO-8La2O3-12WO3, the core glass had a composition of 60TeO 2-18ZnO-8La2O3-14WO3, and the core glass had a refractive index higher than that of the clad glass. The preparation method of the optical fiber preform comprises the following steps:
(1) The heating furnace 5 is adjusted to a horizontal position by the second motor 7, as shown in fig. 2, the mold 4 is fixed in the hearth 52, and the temperature of the heating furnace 5 is increased to 400 ℃ which is close to the transition temperature Tg of the molten glass component;
(2) Tilting the heating furnace 5 by 45 ° to the left by the second motor 7 as shown in fig. 3 and pouring 50g of cladding glass liquid in a molten state into the mold 4 from the left side of the mold 4 through the crucible 91, and subsequently tilting the heating furnace 5 by 45 ° to the right by the second motor 7 as shown in fig. 4 and pouring 30g of core glass liquid in a molten state into the mold 4 from the right side of the mold 4 through the crucible 92;
(3) The heating furnace 5 is restored to the horizontal position through the second motor 7, the supporting arm 3 and the heating furnace 5 are synchronously moved upwards by 70cm at the upward movement speed of 10mm/s through the first motor 6, so that fiber core glass flows into cladding glass liquid, a soft glass optical fiber preform with a core-cladding structure is obtained in the die 4, the die 4 and the soft glass optical fiber preform are taken out of the hearth 52 of the heating furnace 5 together, the soft glass optical fiber preform is put into an annealing furnace and subjected to annealing cooling treatment at 380 ℃ until the soft glass optical fiber preform is cooled to room temperature, and the effective length of the soft glass optical fiber preform is about 300mm, the fiber core is in a sharp cone shape in the cladding, and the minimum diameter of the tip is 1-2 mm after detection. The soft glass optical fiber preform prepared in example 3 was drawn into an optical fiber, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the drawn optical fiber, the core diameter of the optical fiber was a minimum of about 13.9 μm, the concentricity of the cladding and the core was less than 1 μm, and the contact interface between the cladding and the core was excellent.
Example 4A method for manufacturing a soft glass optical fiber preform using the manufacturing apparatus of example 2 was different from example 3 in that in example 4, the composition of the clad glass was 70TeO 2-20ZnO-10La2O3, the composition of the core glass was 75TeO 2-15ZnO-10La2O3, and the amounts of the clad glass liquid and the core glass liquid were 80g and 30g, respectively. A conical liquid storage tank 44 with a small upper opening and a large lower opening is connected to the bottom of a die cavity 42 of the die 4. The soft glass optical fiber preform prepared in example 4 has an effective length of about 500mm, the core has a pointed taper in the cladding, and the minimum diameter of the tip is 1 to 2mm. The soft glass optical fiber preform prepared in example 4 was drawn into an optical fiber, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the drawn optical fiber, the core diameter of the optical fiber was a minimum of about 9.6 μm, the concentricity of the cladding and the core was less than 1 μm, and the contact interface between the cladding and the core was excellent.
The above-described embodiments are merely preferred examples of the present invention, and do not limit the scope of the present invention. Any alterations or modifications which would be obvious to those skilled in the art based on the teachings herein are intended to be within the scope of the invention.