Modeling of Heat and Mass Transfer in the Manufacture of Optical Waveguides

A fundamental understanding of the complex coupling of heat and mass transfer in the manufacture of optical waveguide is essential in today's competitive market. The number of operating parameters precludes an empirical approach to either the refinement of current processes or the development of new ones. The current fabrication techniques fall into two categories, the so-called "inside" and "outside" processes. Inside processes require an externally heated rotating substrate tube in which doped silica particles formed, from such precursors as SiCl sub 4 and GeCl sub 4, deposit on the tube walls downstream of the heat source.