PROCESS OF ETCHING GLASS SURFACES, PARTICULARLY IN THE MANUFACTURE OF OPTICAL WAVEGUIDES

摘要

A process of etching surfaces of silica glass or silicate glass with hydrogen fluoride is described wherein the hydrogen fluoride is produced by a chemical vapor-phase reaction carried out within a localized heating zone in the proximity of the surface to be etched. The process is particularly useful in the course of preparing the interior surface of a substrate tube to be coated for the manufacture of optical waveguides.