Fabrication of Yb-doped silica micro-structured optical fibers from UV-curable nano-composites and their application in temperature sensing

• Published in: Journal of non-crystalline solids Vol. 573; p. 121129
• Main Authors: Zheng, Baoluo, Yang, Jing, Qi, Fuxin, Wang, Jinhang, Zhang, Xin, Wang, Pu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01-12-2021
• Subjects: 3D printing; Curable nano composites; Micro-structured optical fibers; Porous silica; Rare-earth doped; Temperature sensing; Micro-structured optical fibers; Porous silica; Temperature sensing; 3D printing; Curable nano composites; Rare-earth doped
• ISSN: 0022-3093; 1873-4812
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2021.121129

•Yb3+ doped silica glass and pure silica glass structure are fabricated based on UV-curable nano-composites.•Optical and material properties of the Yb3+ -doped silica glass are characterized and investigated.•There is virtually no difference between the 3D printed silica glass structure and commercial fused silica glass.•Yb-doped silica micro structured optical fibers are fabricated, investigated and applied to high temperature sensing.
A novel scheme for fabricating Yb-doped silica micro structured optical fibers and their application in high-temperature optical fiber sensing are reported. The Yb-doped silica micro structured optical fiber preforms consisted of Yb-doped silica core rods (0.1 wt% for Yb2O3) and holey pure silica claddings fabricated by UV-curable tube molding technology and digital light processing 3D printing technology, respectively. The silica preforms were drawn using the rod-in-tube method to Yb-doped silica micro structured optical fibers without severe distortion. The doped micro structured fibers were applied to high-temperature sensing from 296.15 to 653.15 K. The proposed technology is expected to be effective for the fabrication of various types of rare-earth-ion-doped silica micro structured optical fibers that can be used in fiber sensors, lasers, and amplifiers.