Method for making fiber optical devices

Claim 1

THE METHOD OF MAKING A FUSED ENERGY-CONDUCTING FACE PLATE HAVING ENERGY RECEIVING AND EMITTING OPPOSITE END FACES OF RELATIVELY LARGE SURFACE AREA FORMED OF CORRESPONDING OPPOSITE ENDS OF A NUMBER OF MULTI-CHANNELED ENERGY-CONDUCTING STRUCTURES EACH HAVING AN OUTER POLYGONAL CROSS-SECTIONAL CONFIGURATION AND FORMED OF A MULTIPLICITY OF INDIVIDUALLY CLAD ENERGY-CONDUCTING FIBER ELEMENTS FUSED TOGETHER IN SIDE-BY-SIDE PREARRANGED GEOMETRICAL RELATIONSHIP, SAID MULTI-CHANNELED STRUCTURES EACH BEING OF A LENGTH APPROXIMATELY EQUAL TO THE THICKNESS DESIRED BETWEEN SAID OPPOSTIE FACES OF SAID PLATE, SAID METHOD COMPRISING BUNDLING SAID MULTI-CHANNEDLED STRUCTURES TOGETHER IN SIDE-BY-SIDE RELATION WITH EACH OTHER IN SUCH MANNER THAT THE SPACING THEREBETWEEN IS SUBSTANTIALLY NO GREATER THAN THAT BETWEEN THEIR RESPECTIVE INDIVIDUAL FIBER ELEMENTS, HEATING THE BUNDLE TO A TEMPERATURE SUFFICIENT TO FUSE TOGETHER ADJOINING SIDE SURFACES OF SAID STRUCTUES AND APPLING A RADICALLYINWARDLY DIRECTED COMPRESSING FORCE SUBSTANTIALLY LUNIFORMLY OVER SUBSTANTIALLY THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF SID BUNDLE TO HERMETICALLY SEAL RESPECTIVE COMPONENTS OF THE ASSEMBLY TO EACH OTHER AND RENDER THE RESULTANT PLATE STRUCTURE AS A WHOLE SUBSTANTIALLY IMPERVIOUS TO AIR AND GASES.