New Methods of Enhancing the Thermal Durability of Silica Optical Fibers

Materials

Karol Wysokiński¹  Tomasz Staᑌzyk¹  Katarzyna Gibaᐪ³  Tadeusz Tenderenda¹  Anna Ziołowicz²  Mateusz Słowikowski²  Małgorzata Broczkowska²  Tomasz Nasiłowski¹ 

[1] InPhoTech, ul. Slomińskiego 17/31, 00-195 Warszawa, Poland; E-Mails:;Polish Centre for Photonics and Fibre Optics, Rogoźnica 312, 36-060 Głogów Małopolski, Poland; E-Mails:;P.H. ELMAT, Rogoźnica 312, 36-060 Głogów Małopolski, Poland; E-Mail:

关键词: optical fiber sensors;    harsh environments;    microstructured optical fibers;    metal-coated optical fibers;    thermal degradation of silica;    thermal reliability of optical fibers;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ma7106947

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Microstructured optical fibers can be precisely tailored for many different applications, out of which sensing has been found to be particularly interesting. However, placing silica optical fiber sensors in harsh environments results in their quick destruction as a result of the hydrolysis process. In this paper, the degradation mechanism of bare and metal-coated optical fibers at high temperatures under longitudinal strain has been determined by detailed analysis of the thermal behavior of silica and metals, like copper and nickel. We furthermore propose a novel method of enhancing the lifetime of optical fibers by the deposition of electroless nickel-phosphorous alloy in a low-temperature chemical process. The best results were obtained for a coating comprising an inner layer of copper and outer layer of low phosphorous nickel. Lifetime values obtained during the annealing experiments were extrapolated to other temperatures by a dedicated model elaborated by the authors. The estimated copper-coated optical fiber lifetime under cycled longitudinal strain reached 31 h at 450 °C.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.