Conception, elaboration and characterization of silica-zirconia . Based nanostructured optical fiber obtained by the sol-gel process
Résumé
This paper presents an original nanostructured optical fibre obtained by the sol-gel process. The studied fibre is composed with zirconia nanocrystals dispersed inside an amorphous silica matrix as core surrounded by a pure silica cladding. The conception and the elaboration of the fibre are described, as well as its structural and optical characterization. A preliminary study of the rheological properties of the initial silica-zirconia sol has been realized to determine the evolution of the sol behaviour as a function of the time .The introduction of ytterbium ions in the core composition is also investigated and the luminescence properties of the fibre are exposed and discussed.