3M Gift Positions Clemson at top of Optical Fiber Fabrication
A gift from 3M Corporation makes Clemson University the only university in the United States, and one of only a few in the world, to have industry-level optical fiber fabrication capabilities. The company has given Clemson a modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD) lathe worth almost $900,000.
“The gift of the lathe is a tremendous asset to expanding our capabilities,” said John Ballato, director of the Center for Optical Materials Science and Engineering Technologies (COMSET). “Just as a lathe is crucial in fine metalworking, it is an important tool in making the glass rods that we subsequently use in the draw tower to make the optical fiber.”
Optical fibers have enabled or enhanced the Internet and many other conveniences, and related research activity using fiber is being developed in areas of defense and homeland security. This includes high power laser systems and chemical and biological agent detection, as well as use in automotive, medical and industrial systems.
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“3M is pleased to provide Clemson with the MCVD lathe to help preserve this important technology,” said Terry Smith, technical director of the 3M Corporate Research Materials Laboratory. This and gifts from other benefactors have helped Clemson create a world-class facility for fabricating fiber – significantly, the only academic institute with this capability in the U.S.
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COMSET at Clemson supports optical materials research and development from concept to commerce. It is the nation’s academic focal point for research into organic and inorganic optical materials, especially optical fiber fabrication. The center currently holds, among others, a $1 million annual Department of Defense contract on high power fiber lasers. With the backing of the J.E. Sirrine Textile Foundation and 3M, it also has been approved for a $10 million endowed professorship in optical fibers as part of the South Carolina Research Center of Economic Excellence Program.
In addition to the lathe, the Clemson Optical Fiber Laboratory is comprised of a Heathway Fiber Draw Tower. The 6.5-meter optical fiber draw tower is equipped with three interchangeable, controlled-atmosphere furnaces that can cover a range of temperatures, from ambient to 2200 degrees Celsius. The highest temperature is most often used to draw silica materials while the two intermediate temperature furnaces are used for soft glasses and polymer draws.
The draw tower and lathe are staffed by three full-time researchers with more than 40 years of cumulative industrial experience in the optical fiber industry.
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