ZirPro offers the most comprehensive portfolio of zirconia powders from monoclinic to yttria-stabilized. ZirPro powders exhibit a large range of particle size distribution, reactivity and chemical purity.
Optical Fiber Connectors
Optical fiber connectors are devices that enable two optical fibers or an optical fiber and a terminal to connect. Ferrules and sleeves are the key components of connectors, which ensure perfect alignment of the fiber after connection to prevent signal loss. For the last 10 years, yttria-stabilized zirconia has been the material of choice to manufacture ceramic ferrules and sleeves because of its high-precision manufacturing and excellent surface finishing abilities. In addition, zirconia-based ceramic ferrules and sleeves maintain stable properties over long periods of time — even in demanding environmental conditions — due to their high resistance to wear and aging.
Saint-Gobain ZirPro yttria-stabilized zirconia powders are the industry reference in the manufacturing of ferrules and sleeves for optical fiber connectors. Overall, the CY3Z family delivers an industry-leading range of solutions that meets today’s increasingly complex ceramic processing requirements.
CY3Z-M grades for ferrules
CY3Z-M zirconium dioxide powders are especially well suited for the injection molding process. Fine microstructure, adjusted reactivity and composition of CY3Z-M zirconia powders enable easy processing into high-quality feedstock, leading to ferrules with excellent surface finishing and outstanding mechanical properties. The excellent batch-to-batch consistency of CY3Z-M grades guarantees stable properties of the feedstock as well as a precise dimension control of the ferrules.
CY3Z-P grades for sleeves
The CY3Z-P grade (3 mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia) has been specifically developed for the manufacturing of sleeves using ZirPro’s latest technology improvements. CY3Z-P is an easy-to-process powder that enables the manufacturing of high-quality sleeves with excellent and consistent mechanical properties.