Properties of Rare Earth Doped Silica Fibers obtained by Silica Powder Sol Gel Technology and MCVD: a Comparative Study

Two techniques for manufacturing fiber performs- silica powder sol-gel processing and MCVD are compared. Preforms with core material doped with Nd 3+ and Yb 3+ are produced with both methods and are characterised with respect to spectral characteristics and losses.The properties of the produced core materials (fluorescence spectra, lifetime and refractive index) as well as the laser properties of the fibers drawn from the sol-gel and silica powder preforms are presented. The results are compared with fibers produced by standard MCVD technology.