Scattering from Gas-Phase Synthesized Particles

Rational design and optimization for the next generation of fiber optics requires fundamental knowledge of the processes at each step of production [1], not the least of which is the formation and deposition of the glass precursor particles. Currently, gas-phase synthesis dominates the industry, owing, in part, to the high purity possible for gaseous reagents. However, the production engineer has relatively little control over the microstructure of the boule from which the fiber is drawn because many complex mechanisms take part in the growth and thermophoretic deposition of the precursors. Although it is desirable, for example, to obtain a porous boule in order to facilitate the removal of deleterious hydroxyls, connected porosity is by no means guaranteed. The successful attainment of high porosity depends on a number of variables such as the size distribution [2], internal structure, shape distribution, viscosity, and surface tension of the particles at the instant of deposition.