Fiber Drawing Using the Double Crucible Method

By Tara Schneider Summer 2005 Advisors: Bill Heffner and Himanshu Jain IMI-NFG at Lehigh University

Candy Glass

Work Supported By NSFs International Materials Institute for New Functionality in Glass

Introduction
This

slide show includes background information on optical fibers, Snells Law, and glass science. At the end of the slide show is a lab that can be performed using ingredients and supplies you can find in your kitchen.

Fiber Optics Background Information

The

following topics relate to fiber optics:

Core and Cladding Total Internal Reflection Uses Comparison to Wires and Current

Core and Cladding

A fiber optics cable is a long string of glass that consists of a core and a cladding (Picture). The cladding surrounds the core and has a lower index of refraction, n. The core can transmit one or more colors of light. Total internal reflection in the core keeps light from escaping. Cladding Core

A slice of a fiber optics cable.

Note: In our experiment, we create a fiber optics cable with a core and a cladding to demonstrate the double crucible method. The core and cladding do not have different indices of refraction, n values.

Snells Law

What is total internal reflection (TIR)? To understand why TIR occurs, one must know Snells Law. Snells law states:

Total Internal Reflection Keeps Light in.

n1sin1=n2sin2 (see diagram). The reflected angle equals the incident angle. 1=r
Note: The dotted line is the normal. All angles are measured from the normal.

n2 n1
t en cid In

d ra acte Refr

y ra

Re fle cte d

ra y

Reflection and Refraction. n1>n2

Total Internal Reflection

If 2 is greater than 90 then no light is refracted. The incident angle that would cause this 90 angle of refraction, 2, is called the critical angle, c. n1sin1=n2sin2 becomes n1sinc=n2sin 90. So the critical angle is sinc=n2/n1

Total Internal Reflection Keeps Light in.

n2 n1
t en cid In y ra
Re fle cte d

ra y

Critical Angle and Reflected Angle. n1>n2.

Uses

Fiber optics cables can be used for the following applications:

Communication
Telephone Television Internet

Fiber Optic Fish.

Photo courtesy of Robert Backman.

Surgery Toys Uses yet to be imagined!

Fiber Optic Cable.

18 April, 2002. Online Image. www.accs.net - /users/kriel/ch12 notes/. 4 August, 2005. <http://www.accs.net/users/kriel/ch12%20note s/fiber_optic_cable.jpg>.

Comparison to Wires and Current

A wire can transmit current, either in a positive direction or a negative direction. A fiber optics cable can transmit light in two directions at the same time. It can also transmit light in different phases, amplitudes, and sometimes different colors. Optical fibers can carry more information, and they can carry it a farther distance than wires.

Glass
Topics

covered include:

Crystalline and Amorphous Solids Supercooled Liquid and Viscosity Glass Transition Temperature Fiber Drawing Similarities Between Candy and Glass

Crystalline vs. Amorphous

Most solids are crystalline, but glass is amorphous. Glass does not have a repeated molecular structure. An amorphous solid resembles a liquid frozen in time.

No date. Online image. http://math.ucr.edu/. 3 August, 2005. <http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/Glass/glass.html>.

Molecular arrangement in a crystal.

Molecular arrangement in a glass.

No date. Online image. http://math.ucr.edu/. 3 August, 2005. <http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/Glass/glass. html>.

Crystallization and Glass Forming

If you heat a crystal up to above the melting temperature, Tm, and then cool it, it might become a crystal or it might become a glass. If given enough time, the melt will become a crystal. The molecules rearrange into their lowest energy states which are very ordered. If you cool the melt quickly, it will not have time to rearrange to become a crystal. Instead, it will become a supercooled liquid, on its way to glass formation.

Viscosity
Viscosity

is the resistance to flow. A highly viscous material flows slowly like honey, and a material with low viscosity flows easily like water. As this supercooled liquid becomes cooler and cooler, the viscosity becomes greater and greater.

Tg
When Tg

(t-j)

the viscosity becomes so high that the material behaves more like a solid than a liquid, it has become a glass. It has hit Tg. is the glass transition temperature. Tg is lower than the melting temperature, Tm.

Fiber Drawing
In the experiment, we will draw fibers from a supercooled liquid. Video will run after download please be patient.

Candy Glass

Similarities between Candy and Glass

Differences between Candy and Glass

Amorphous solids Tendency to crystallize under certain conditions Glass former: SiO2 (Silicate) for glass, C12H24O12 (Sucrose) for candy Glass modifier: Na2CO3 for sodium silicate glass, H2O for candy, reduces melting temperature and decreases chemical durability Other stuff: Corn syrup reduces crystallization in candy. Dr. Jains paper says that adding stuff to glass can increase glass forming ability. (Source: Jain, Himanshu and Isha Jain, Learning the Principles of Glass Science and Technology from Candy Making. Lehigh University. No Date. Lehigh University. 5 Aug. 2005 University. <http://www.lehigh.edu/~inmatsci/faculty/candy_making.pdf>.) Note: Corn syrup is made of simpler sugars than sucrose. Sucrose is fructose C12H24O12 and glucose C12H24O12 bonded together. Corn syrup is fructose, glucose, water and other stuff which the Karo company does not disclose. Candy will decompose (C12H24O12 bonds will break) at a temperature that is very high or when not much water is present (Source: Jain, Himanshu. Personal Interview. June 2005.) Melting temperature Tm and glass transition temperature Tg are much lower for candy than for glass.

And Now for the Experiment

Set-Up

Supplies

A stove or hot plate Oven mitts Two 600 mL beakers Two thermometers that can read 144.5C 410g sugar 240g corn syrup 100g water Food coloring Two glass funnels-the shorter the stem the better

A clamp to hold the funnels, paper towel to protect funnels from scratching. A scale to measure ingredients A metal tray to catch hot candy and store fibers A glass rod to draw fibers with A reflection microscope A razor

Outside funnel: Stem diameter 1.4cm Inside funnel: Stem diameter .7cm, preferably longer than stem of outside funnel.

Supercool Set-Up

Set up funnels as shown:

Place paper towel between the clamp and the funnel. Make sure the funnels are concentric at the top and bottom of the stem. Set it up so that the inside funnel sticks out a little bit at the bottom (this will help you see if the cladding is surrounding the core on all sides). Is anything going to get in the way of you pouring your supercooled liquid? You will have a little time during cooking and the beginning of the pour to make final adjustments.

Double Crucible Set Up.

June 2005.

Concentric Funnel Stems.

June 2005.

Procedure: Fiber Drawing

You have the cooking mitts for a reason! Dont get burned. Measure 205g sugar, 120g water and 50g corn syrup into each beaker. Stir before cooking but not during cooking. Cook on a high setting on the stove until both syrups reach 144.5C. Add 20 drops food coloring to one beaker. Pour immediately. Pour colored liquid into inside beaker and clear (or yellow) into outside beaker. Candy will drip out on its own at first. If cladding is not surrounding core on all sides, readjust funnels. Use spoon to test viscosity. If you can pull long fibers, then the viscosity is right for fiber drawing. Pull the fibers, and save them on the metal tray. Notice how rate of pulling affects thickness of fibers. Notice how viscosity affects thickness of fibers.

Experience Fiber Drawing Success!

Video plays after download brief wait

Procedure: Examination of Fiber

To

view fibers under microscope, tape three microscope slides together. Cut fiber with razor. Polish fiber by twisting one end on a damp paper towel. Tape fiber vertically to the three slides. Position the three slides in the microscope the way you would normally position a single slide.

Acknowledgements
My

Advisors: Dr. Bill Heffner and Professor Himanshu Jain, Lehigh University My Lab Partner: Raina Jain Funding Provided by: The National Science Foundation through the International Materials Institute, Lehigh University