Question

Optical fibers for communication use are mostly fabricated from

Answer 1

Optical fibers are composed primarily of silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ), though minute amounts of other chemicals are often added. Highly purified silica powder was used in the now-outmoded crucible manufacturing method, while liquid silicon tetrachloride (SiCl 4 ) in a gaseous stream of pure oxygen (02) is the principal source of silicon for the vapor deposition method currently in widespread use. Other chemical compounds such as germanium tetrachloride (GeCl 4 ) and phosphorus oxychloride (POC1 3 ) can be used to produce core fibers and outer shells, or claddings, with function-specific optical properties.

Because the purity and chemical composition of the glass used in optical fibers determine the most important characteristic of a fiber—degree of attenuation—research now focuses on developing glasses with the highest possible purity. Glasses with a high fluoride content hold the most promise for improving optical fiber performance because they are transparent to almost the entire range of visible light frequencies. This makes them especially valuable for multimode optical fibers, which can transmit hundreds of discrete light wave signals concurrently.
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