Production of glass nanofibers with tailored compositions by laser spinning

We present a new method developed in on; group, Laser Spaning, for the production of very long amorphous ceramic nanofibers with lengths up to several centimeters. This technique allows large quantities of nanofibers to be made with specific, controllable chemical compositions; including some compositions that cannot be formed into nanofibers using any other technique. This technique employes a laser to melt a small volume of a solid precursor material while a high pressure gas jet drags it. Thus, the molten material forms glass fibers as a result of its rapid elongation and cooling by the gas jet. Then it forms fibers with diameters in the range from tens of nanometers up to several microns. The composition of the fibers can be taylored for different applications such as biomaterials or refractory nanofibers.