Article comprising silica-based glass containing aluminum and phorphorus

US4830463A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• American Telephone and Telegraph Company, AT&T Bell Laboratories · US

Inventors

• Paul J. Lemaire · Madison, US
• John B. MacChesney · Lebanon, US
• Jay R. Simpson · Fanwood, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Feb 8, 1988
• Grant date: May 16, 1989
• Expiry date: Feb 8, 2008

Classification

• Technology area (CPC C): Chemistry; Metallurgy
• CPC primary: C03C2203/44
• WIPO field: Optics
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

It has been discovered that fused silica doped with approximately equimolar amounts of Al and P, has advantageous properties that make such co-doped glass useful in a variety of applications, including optical fiber, especially polarization-maintaining optical fiber, and planar waveguides in optical and optoelectronic devices. In particular, such co-doped fused silica can have a refractive index that is lower than, or at least not significantly greater than, that of pure fused silica, even though both Al and P individually are known up-dopants for silica. The co-doped fused silica also can have a relatively low working temperature, while otherwise maintaining many of the desirable properties of fused silica, e.g., chemical inertness and relatively low coefficient of thermal expansion.