Fibre design and fabrication
Optical fibre design and fabrication
During my PhD I was focused developing multi-core fibres for medical imaging and sensing, telecommunications and astrophotonic applications. I am interested in optical fibre modes and often spatially controlling them in fibre cross-sections.
Much of my work was part of a large multidisciplinary project that will deliver a transformative device for critical lung care, called Proteus. The performance of large multi-core fibres for imaging in this application are limited by cross-talk of modes will cause image information to blurr. This is typically overcome with expensive refractive index contrasting material. Through simulation (COMSOL and Matlab), fabrication and testing resolution using fluorescent targets, I have helped developed fibres for the Proteus project that use cheaper telecommunications material. These compare favorably with commercially available imaging fibres.
Design
Optical fibres are designed by their wanted cross-section, and available preforms that can be brought or made into canes. We consider the wavelength, wanted modes and refractive index contrast of the glass in order to control how the fibre will guide light.
Stack
Using the cane tower, and readily brought preforms/tubes, we make canes to stack into the 'preform' structure. This structure is usually of the order of some centimeters, depending on the fibre being built.
Draw
The preform is drawn to fibre using the fibre tower. A furnace is used to heat the preform, and the glass is pulled from the hotzone faster than it is fed in. The macro structure is then drawn to a micro structure.