Patent ID: 8904828
Filing Date: 2014-12-09
Classification: C03B

Abstract:
1. A method of forming a cladding portion of an optical fiber preform assembly, the method comprising: positioning a glass core cane in a mold cavity of a rigid mold body; loading the mold cavity with silica glass soot; compressing the silica glass soot in an axial direction and during said compressing step, as the silica glass soot is compressed forming a soot compact having a density of at least 0.5 g/cc around the glass core cane, wherein the soot compact is the cladding portion of the optical fiber preform assembly and the glass core cane is a core portion of the optical fiber preform assembly; applying vibratory energy to the mold body as the silica glass soot is compressed to cause the fluidization of the silica glass soot along a mold wall of the mold cavity; pre-sintering the optical fiber preform assembly; subsequent to said pre-sintering step but prior to fully consolidating and sintering the optical fiber preform assembly, machining said optical fiber preform assembly to selectively remove portions of the cladding; and subsequent to said machining step, fully consolidating the optical fiber preform assembly such that the consolidated optical fiber preform assembly has diameter variations that are less than +10% of the minimum diameter of the consolidated optical fiber preform assembly.