| 摘要 |
<p>A method of manufacturing an optical fiber preform and optical fiber therefrom. The method involves providing a soot clad region of the preform with a dopant, such as P2O5, that causes sintering of the preform to progress from the inside of the soot clad region to its outside, i.e., 'inside-out' sequence as opposed to the prior art 'outside-in.' This beneficially allows outgassing to occur in a radial direction which reduces defects and desirably allows the use of axial bulk sintering. In one embodiment, the dopant varies linearly as a function of radial dimension. Preferable amounts of the viscosity lowering dopant are about 0.1 weight % or greater per centimeter of soot in the soot clad region.</p> |
