Double crucibles for drawing circular and special-shaped infrared optical fibers
By dividing the double crucible into two parts and flexibly designing the connection of the lower end wire tube, the limitation of the preparation of specific cross-section infrared fibers in the dual crucible method in the prior art is solved, and efficient preparation and performance improvement of a variety of special-shaped infrared fibers are achieved.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202420787247.1
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-04-16
- Publication Date
- 2025-07-29
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-04-16
AI Technical Summary
In the prior art, double crucible Fadrail infrared fibers can only prepare specific cross-sectional structures, resulting in high cost and inflexibility, making it difficult to efficiently prepare a variety of special-shaped infrared fibers.
The double crucible is divided into two parts: upper and lower parts, the upper end is used for ventilation and material inlet, and the core diameter and cladding wire outlet tube at the lower end can be flexibly designed, and a variety of cross-sectional structures are realized through threaded connections, reducing the preparation cost and time.
The flexible preparation of a variety of special-shaped infrared optical fibers is realized, which reduces the production cost and time of the double crucible, improves the optical performance of the optical fiber, and avoids gas leakage at the connection.
Smart Images
Figure CN223163359U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of infrared optical fibers, and particularly relates to a double crucible for drawing circular and special-shaped infrared optical fibers, which is used for drawing conventional circular and special-shaped infrared optical fibers. Background Art
[0002] Due to its unique advantages, such as wide transmission band, low phonon energy, high nonlinearity, etc., infrared optical fibers have attracted extensive attention and research. Infrared optical fibers can also be arranged and combined together according to certain rules to prepare optical devices such as infrared fiber image bundles, light transmission bundles, and energy transmission bundles. Infrared optical fibers and their subsequent fiber bundles have important applications in the fields of detection, transmission, sensing, etc.
[0003] At present, the main method for commercially drawing infrared optical fibers is the double crucible method. The double crucible method has high efficiency in drawing infrared optical fibers, and the core-cladding interface can effectively avoid contamination. At present, the cross-sectional structure of commercial infrared optical fibers is mostly circular. Due to the large amount of spiral light in the fiber cladding caused by the circular shape, the optical performance loss is relatively large. The special-shaped cross-sectional structure can make the spiral light effectively enter the fiber core, which is expected to improve the overall performance of the infrared optical fiber. The special-shaped cross-sectional structure can be various shapes, such as various polygons like quadrilateral, hexagon, octagon, etc., as well as porous shapes like double-hole, triple-hole, six-hole, etc. For drawing infrared optical fibers with different cross-sectional shapes by the double crucible method, the cross-section at the wire outlet position at the bottom end of the double crucible determines the cross-sectional structure of the infrared optical fiber. If a separate double crucible is made for each special-shaped cross-sectional structure of the infrared optical fiber, it will consume more time and cost, and a specific double crucible can only draw infrared optical fibers with a specific fiber cross-section.
[0004] Therefore, how to overcome the limitations and requirements of the conventional double crucible for drawing special-shaped fiber cross-sections, and realize the drawing of infrared optical fibers with various special-shaped cross-sectional structures in a simple and flexible way is an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention
[0005] In view of the above problems, the technical solution of the present invention is to provide a double crucible for drawing circular and special-shaped infrared optical fibers. The double crucible is split into upper and lower parts. The upper end of the double crucible is used for ventilation, setting the inlet of the core material and the cladding material. The two wire outlet tubes for the core diameter and the cladding at the lower end of the double crucible are respectively connected to the upper part of the double crucible through threads. The tube orifices of the two wire outlet tubes for the core diameter and the cladding at the lower end of the double crucible can be flexibly designed with various cross-sectional structures and can be flexibly and easily combined to draw infrared optical fibers with various special-shaped structures, effectively avoiding the limitation that the conventional double crucible can only draw infrared optical fibers with a specific fiber cross-section. Moreover, the combined double crucible of the present invention effectively reduces the manufacturing cost and time of the double crucible. Only the two wire outlet tubes for the core diameter and the cladding at the lower end of the double crucible need to be made, and the upper end of the double crucible can be reused in combination, effectively saving cost and time resources.
[0006] The present invention is characterized in that: it overcomes the limitation that conventional double crucibles in the past can only draw infrared optical fibers with specific cross-sections of optical fibers. By adopting a method of simply and flexibly combining the wire outlet tubes of the two core diameters and the cladding at the lower end of the double crucible, a combined double crucible capable of drawing various special-shaped structures is prepared. There is no pressure leakage problem at the connection between the upper and lower parts of the double crucible of the present invention. During the wire drawing process, after the infrared glass softens, it will block the connection, playing a sealing role. Therefore, there is no gas leakage problem at the crucible connection.
[0007] The technical solution of the present invention is as follows:
[0008] The combined double crucible for drawing circular and special-shaped infrared optical fibers of the present invention is made of stainless steel, and the steel numbers are 304, 310, 316, etc. The double crucible is divided into an upper part of the double crucible and a lower part of the double crucible, as Figure 1 shown. The upper part of the double crucible mainly includes a vent hole, the upper half of the core material crucible, the upper half of the cladding material crucible, a sealing nut, a sealing ring and other components that form a sealing port. The lower part of the double crucible mainly includes the lower half of the core material crucible and the lower half of the cladding material crucible. There are two air inlets above, and inert gas is used as the pressure source for the core material and the cladding material of the double crucible, and the pressure is controlled by regulating the gas flow rate. The inert gas can be nitrogen, argon, helium, etc. First, connect the lower half of the core material crucible at the lower end of the double crucible to the upper half of the core material crucible at the upper end of the double crucible through threads, and then connect the lower half of the cladding material crucible at the lower end of the double crucible to the upper half of the cladding material crucible at the upper end of the double crucible through a threaded structure, thus forming a complete double crucible structure.
[0009] Compared with conventional double crucibles in the past, the double crucible for drawing circular and special-shaped infrared optical fibers prepared by the present invention has the following advantages: it overcomes the limitation that conventional double crucibles can only draw infrared optical fibers with specific cross-sections of optical fibers, and uses a simple strategy and simple and flexible upper and lower crucible connection processing to prepare infrared optical fibers with various special-shaped cross-section structures. The special-shaped infrared optical fibers enable spiral light to effectively enter the fiber core, improving the overall performance of the infrared optical fiber. And there is no pressure leakage problem at the connection between the upper and lower parts of the double crucible. During the wire drawing process, the infrared glass softens and blocks the crucible connection, playing a sealing role. According to actual application requirements, only the cross-section structure of the lower crucible needs to be flexibly designed, and the upper crucible can be reused, saving the cost and time resources for preparing the double crucible. The double crucible structure proposed by the present invention can be used for drawing various mid-infrared and far-infrared circular and special-shaped optical fibers, with a wide range of applications and practicality. Description of the Drawings
[0010] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the double crucible for drawing circular and special-shaped infrared optical fibers of the present invention and its assembly.
[0011] In Figure 1Among them, 1. upper end of the double crucible; 2. lower end of the core material crucible; 3. lower end of the skin material crucible; 4. complete double crucible after combination; 5. upper end of the core material crucible; 6. upper end of the skin material crucible; 7. gas inlet of the core material crucible; 8. gas inlet of the skin material crucible; 9. sealing port composed of a sealing nut and a sealing ring, etc.; 10 and 11. threaded structure at the crucible connection of the upper end of the double crucible; 12. threaded structure at the crucible connection of the lower end of the core material crucible; 13. core material crucible combined through the threaded structure; 14. threaded structure at the crucible connection of the lower end of the skin material crucible; 15. skin material crucible combined through the threaded structure.
[0012] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the process of drawing optical fibers with a double crucible for drawing circular and shaped infrared optical fibers according to the present invention.
[0013] In Figure 2 Among them, 16. inert gas is passed through the skin material crucible; 17. inert gas is passed through the core material crucible; 18. core material glass; 19. skin material glass; 20. infrared optical fiber with a circular / shaped cross-section structure drawn by the double crucible.
[0014] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of various typical cross-section structures of drawing optical fibers with a double crucible for drawing circular and shaped infrared optical fibers according to the present invention.
[0015] In Figure 3 Among them, a-c. the inner tube is circular, and the outer tubes are circular, square, and hexagonal respectively; d-f. the inner tube is square, and the outer tubes are circular, square, and hexagonal respectively; g-h. the inner tube is hexagonal, and the outer tubes are circular, square, and hexagonal respectively; j-l. the outer tube is circular, and the outer tubes are double circular, triple circular, and quadruple circular respectively. Specific embodiments
[0016] This embodiment provides a detailed description of a double crucible for drawing a shaped infrared optical fiber with a square inner tube and a hexagonal outer tube: As Figure 1 shown, the double crucible is made of stainless steel with the steel number 310. The overall height of the double crucible is 50 cm and the width is 10 cm. It is mainly divided into two parts, namely the upper end of the double crucible, the lower end of the core material crucible with a square inner tube, and the lower end of the skin material crucible with a hexagonal outer tube. First, connect the lower end of the core material crucible to the connection of the core material crucible at the upper end of the double crucible through a threaded connection, and then connect the lower end of the skin material crucible to the connection of the skin material crucible at the upper end of the double crucible through a threaded connection, that is, the complete double crucible structure is assembled. Appropriate amounts of core material and skin material glass are filled in the crucibles, and the sealing port is sealed through a sealing nut and a sealing ring, etc.
[0017] As Figure 2As shown, argon is introduced through the two upper air inlets to adjust the pressure inside the double crucibles and serve as a protective gas. After the heating furnace is preheated and other parameters of the wire drawing equipment are debugged, gas can be introduced and the temperature can be raised to perform operations such as stepwise temperature increase and pressure control of the infrared optical fiber, and draw a special-shaped infrared optical fiber with a square inner tube and a hexagonal outer tube.
[0018] The upper end of the double crucible for drawing the special-shaped infrared optical fiber with a square inner tube and a hexagonal outer tube of the present invention can be reused, and the lower-end core material and skin material crucibles can be flexibly replaced with lower-end crucibles of other cross-sectional shapes, and can be used for drawing various circular and special-shaped infrared optical fibers. Figure 3 Several typical infrared optical fibers with circular and special-shaped cross-sectional structures are listed.
[0019] The above embodiments are only descriptions of the preferred implementation schemes of the present invention, and do not limit the scope of the present invention. Without departing from the design spirit and principles of the present invention, various replacements and improvements to the research and development schemes of the present invention by those skilled in the art, for example, replacing the stainless steel material of the double crucible with materials such as platinum, corundum, graphite, quartz, etc., replacing the special-shaped structure with a dot matrix structure / array structure, etc., replacing the use for infrared optical fiber with materials for similar softening point materials, etc., all such replacements and improvements should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.
Claims
1. A double crucible for drawing circular and special-shaped infrared optical fibers, which is split into upper and lower parts, characterized in that: The combined double crucible for drawing circular and special-shaped infrared optical fibers is made of stainless steel with steel grades such as 304, 310, 316, etc. The double crucible is divided into the upper part of the double crucible and the lower part of the double crucible. The upper part of the double crucible mainly includes a vent hole, the upper half of the core material crucible, the upper half of the cladding material crucible, a sealing nut, a sealing ring, etc. to form a sealed port. The upper part of the double crucible mainly includes the lower half of the core material crucible and the lower half of the cladding material crucible. There are two air inlets above, and inert gas is passed as the pressure source for the core material and cladding material of the double crucible, and the pressure is controlled by regulating the gas flow rate. The inert gas can be nitrogen, argon, helium, etc. First, the lower half of the core material crucible at the lower end of the double crucible is connected to the upper half of the core material crucible at the upper end of the double crucible by threads, and then the lower half of the cladding material crucible at the lower end of the double crucible is connected to the upper half of the cladding material crucible at the upper end of the double crucible by threads, thus forming a complete double crucible structure. The material of the double crucible can be stainless steel, platinum, corundum, graphite, quartz, etc.
2. The double crucible for drawing circular and profiled infrared optical fibers according to claim 1, wherein, The inert gas can be nitrogen, argon, helium, etc.
3. A double crucible for drawing circular and profiled infrared optical fibers as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The double crucible will use a sealing nut, a sealing ring, a threaded structure, etc.
4. A double crucible for drawing circular and profiled infrared optical fibers as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The upper part of the double crucible of the double crucible can be reused, and the cross-sectional structure of the lower crucible can be flexibly designed.
5. A double crucible for drawing circular and profiled infrared optical fibers as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The double crucible structure in this research and development plan can be flexibly replaced and improved. For example, the stainless steel material of the double crucible can be replaced with materials such as platinum, corundum, graphite, quartz, etc., the special-shaped structure can be replaced with a dot matrix structure / array structure, etc., and the application for infrared optical fibers can be replaced with applications for materials with a softening point of 400 - 700 °C and various other replacement and improvement treatments.