Fabrication of silicon optical fiber

Abstract

We experimentally demonstrate the fabrication of silicon optical fibers by using the powder-in-tube technique. The fibers are drawn from a preform utilizing a custom-made fiber drawing system. Silicon optical fibers having cladding diameters in the range of 40 to 240 µm, core diameters in the range of 10 to 100 µm, and an approximate overall length of 7 cm have been fabricated. The powder-in-tube technique is versatile and can be utilized to fabricate fibers with different dimensions and core/cladding materials.