Mode Volume Reduction in Single Crystal Sapphire Optical Fibers

This research provides the original work on the geometry factors selection for single crystal sapphire optical fiber (SCSF) to improve the optical property in sensing applications. Single crystal sapphire fibers were fabricated with a Laser Heated Pedestal Growth (LHPG) system, which was constructed in-house at Virginia Tech. The cost effective, high efficiency and fully operational Laser-heated Pedestal Growth (LHPG) system as well as the fiber fabrication process were also demonstrated in this research. The results indicated the windmill single crystal sapphire optical fiber (SCSF) will readily improve the performance of current fiber optic sensors in the harsh environment and potentially enable those that are limited by the optical property of unclad single crystal sapphire optical fiber (SCSF).