RESUMO
Optical fiber is drawn from a dual-head 3D printer fabricated preform made of two optically transparent plastics with a high-index core (NAâ¼0.25, V>60). The asymmetry observed in the fiber arises from asymmetry in the 3D printing process. The highly multimode optical fiber has losses measured by cut-back as low as αâ¼0.44 dB/cm in the near IR.
RESUMO
A structured optical fiber is drawn from a 3D-printed structured preform. Preforms containing a single ring of holes around the core are fabricated using filament made from a modified butadiene polymer. More broadly, 3D printers capable of processing soft glasses, silica, and other materials are likely to come on line in the not-so-distant future. 3D printing of optical preforms signals a new milestone in optical fiber manufacture.