Fiber optical silica amplifiers doped with erbium

• Grant number: 01/13406-8
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: October 01, 2002
• End date: May 31, 2006
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Materials and Metallurgical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Carlos Kenichi Suzuki
• Grantee: Carlos Kenichi Suzuki
• Company: Sun Quartz Indústria, Comércio e Manutenção de Dispositivos e Equipamentos para a Área de Telecomunicação Ltda. - ME
• City: Campinas

Abstract

A large number of fiber optical amplifiers work with silicon amplifying fibers doped with erbium. While Brazil has considerable industrial potential to produce standard optical fibers, erbium fibers are still an imported product. Based on the long experience acquired by Integrated Quartz Cycle Laboratory (LIQC) in VAD (Vapor-phase Axial Deposition) technology for the manufacture of silica preforms for optical fibers, this project proposes the development of erbium fibers following five basic stages of VAD processing, considering this to be the most efficient and economic manufacturing method: a) sourcing the porous silicon preform; b) doping with erbium by immersion of the porous preform in liquid solution; c) thermo-chemical treatment for drying, the elimination of hydroxyls and consolidation in totally transparent preforms free from microbubbles; d) make up of the mechanical jacket for over-cladding; and e) pulling into optical fibers. The methodology of doping with erbium (diffusion) will be carried out by immersion of the porous silica preform in liquid solution. A large part of the detail in the various stages of processing the preform will be carried out using the available infrastructure in LIQC and in the Materials Engineering Department of FEM. For the pulling of the fibers and their characterization we will be able to count on collaboration from Xtal Fibras Ópticas and the Fiber Optics and Photonics Group of the Institute of Physics in the State University of Campinas, UNICAMP. It is interesting to point out that the high value added to erbium fibers, combined with the small volume of production to meet demand in the country, offers another great advantage to the project. Both the phases of R&D (Phases I and II), and the commercialization stage will be able to be carried out using the already established infrastructure in LIQC. (AU)

Filed patent(s) as a result of this research project