Abstract

The addition of a dopant to pure fused silica in order to raise its refractive index may also increase the Rayleigh scatter, the intrinsic absorption, and the ^ material dispersion. The recent use of vapour deposited phosphosilicate glass'² as the core of an ultra-low-loss optical waveguide has therefore prompted an investigation of the characteristics of this material in order to determine whether the desirable properties of pure silica have been adversely affected by the addition of phosphorus pentoxide. A number of fibres with core P₂O₅ levels ranging from 5m/o to 15m/o were fabricated and the refractive index, the total scatter loss, and the material dispersion measured as a function of core composition.

© 1975 Optical Society of America