A glass cane is manufactured by filling a glass tube with a combination of glass structures forming a cross-sectional pattern within the glass tube, to form a preform. The preform is attached to a draw assembly, such as a draw tower. The draw assembly is operated to draw the preform to a reduced-diameter glass cane by passing the preform through a furnace of the draw assembly while pulling the preform or the reduced-diameter glass cane and rotating the preform or the reduced-diameter glass cane.

This application relates generally to an optical fiber for the delivery of infrared light where the polarization state of the light entering the fiber is preserved upon exiting the fiber and the related methods for making thereof. The optical fiber has a wavelength between about 0.9 m and 15 m, comprises at least one infrared-transmitting glass, and has a polarization-maintaining (PM) transverse cross-sectional structure. The infrared-transmitting, polarization-maintaining (IR-PM) optical fiber has a birefringence greater than 10.sup.5 and has applications in dual-use technologies including laser power delivery, sensing and imaging.

The disclosure provides a method of manufacturing a multicore optical fiber comprising a plurality of cores and a common cladding covering each of the plurality of cores and having a non-circular cross-sectional shape capable of passive alignment. The method includes providing an optical fiber preform having a cross-sectional shape delimited by a line obtained by replacing a part of a circumference with one chord or two chords parallel to each other, and applying a drawing tension to one end of the optical fiber preform to draw a multicore optical fiber. An aspect ratio x of the cladding defined by a ratio of a radius of a circle defining the circumference to a distance from the center of the circle to the chord and a drawing tension y are set so that the common cladding has a depression at the center of a plane corresponding to the one or each of the two chords.

There is provided a method of manufacturing a cutting element for use in a hair cutting device, the cutting element comprising an optical waveguide, the method comprising providing a preform for an optical waveguide, the preform comprising a core and an outer layer, wherein the outer layer is arranged around the core along the length of the core; forming a shaped preform by removing a portion of the outer layer along the length of the core to expose part of the core, wherein a remaining portion of the outer layer is a support structure for the core; heating the shaped preform; and pulling the shaped preform in the direction of the axis of the core to reduce the cross-section of the shaped preform and form the optical waveguide. Also provided is a cutting element manufactured according to the above method and a cutting element for use in a hair cutting device, the cutting element comprising an optical waveguide comprising a core and a support structure, wherein the support structure contacts the core along the length of the core to support the core, and wherein part of the core is exposed along the length of the core to form a cutting face for contacting hair. The thickness of the support structure tapers linearly or non-linearly from a thin side at which the support structure contacts the core to a thick side.

A high-density optical fiber ribbon is formed by two or more cladding-strengthened glass optical fibers each having an outer surface and that do not individually include a protective polymer coating. A common protective coating substantially surrounds the outer surfaces of the two or more cladding-strengthened glass optical fibers so that the common protective coating is common to the two or more cladding-strengthened glass optical fibers. A fiber ribbon cable is formed by adding a cover assembly to the fiber ribbon. A fiber ribbon interconnect is formed adding one or more optical connectors to the fiber ribbon or fiber ribbon cable. Optical data transmission systems that employ the fiber ribbon to optically connect to a photonic device are also disclosed. Methods of forming the cladding-strengthened glass optical fibers and the high-density optical fiber ribbons are also disclosed.

Provided is a method for producing a multicore optical fiber (MCF) in which variations in positions of cores relative to the outer shape of the MCF are small. The method includes: an integrating step of heating a common cladding tube and a core rods, thereby integrating the tube with the core rods to form a core-cladding composite body including a plurality of cores and a common cladding and having a noncircular cross-sectional shape; an outline detecting step of detecting the outline of the composite body; an optical fiber preform forming step of machining the outer circumferential surface of the composite body using results obtained in the outline detecting step to form the preform having a flat surface; and a drawing step of drawing one end of the preform under heating to obtain the MCF. Also provided is a MCF for which a rotation alignment operation is easily performed.

This application relates generally to an optical fiber for the delivery of infrared light where the polarization state of the light entering the fiber is preserved upon exiting the fiber and the related methods for making thereof. The optical fiber has a wavelength between about 0.9 m and 15 m, comprises at least one infrared-transmitting glass, and has a polarization-maintaining (PM) transverse cross-sectional structure. The infrared-transmitting, polarization-maintaining (IR-PM) optical fiber has a birefringence greater than 10.sup.5 and has applications in dual-use technologies including laser power delivery, sensing and imaging.

A method for manufacturing an optical fiber includes: melting an optical fiber preform and drawing a glass fiber; applying a resin composition to an outer periphery of the glass fiber; and curing the resin composition applied, wherein an amount of eccentricity of a central axis of the glass fiber, in a cross section perpendicular to the central axis of the glass fiber, from a central axis relative to an outer periphery of the resin composition or an outer periphery of a coating resin layer formed by curing the resin composition is measured at 50 points or more over a length range of 50 m or more of the glass fiber, and wherein the resin composition is applied such that a mean value a and a standard deviation a of the amount of eccentricity satisfy a+3??10 ?m.

Provided is a method for producing a multicore optical fiber (MCF) in which variations in positions of cores relative to the outer shape of the MCF are small. The method includes: an integrating step of heating a common cladding tube and a core rods, thereby integrating the tube with the core rods to form a core-cladding composite body including a plurality of cores and a common cladding and having a noncircular cross-sectional shape; an outline detecting step of detecting the outline of the composite body; an optical fiber preform forming step of machining the outer circumferential surface of the composite body using results obtained in the outline detecting step to form the preform having a flat surface; and a drawing step of drawing one end of the preform under heating to obtain the MCF. Also provided is a MCF for which a rotation alignment operation is easily performed.

A method of drawing a material into sheet form includes forming a preform comprising at least one material as a large aspect ratio block wherein a first transverse dimension of the preform is much greater than a second transverse dimension substantially perpendicular to the first transverse dimension. A furnace having substantially linearly opposed heating elements one spaced from the other is provided and the heating elements are energized to apply heat to the preform to create a negative thermal gradient from an exterior surface along the first transverse dimension of the preform inward toward a central plane of the preform. The preform is drawn in such a manner that the material substantially maintains its first transverse dimension and deforms across its second transverse dimension.