The traditional approach to manufacturing optical fibers with a microstructured cross-section is based on first fabricating a fiber preform in a multiple-stage procedure, and then drawing of the preform to fiber. These processes require the use of several dedicated and sophisticated equipment, including a fiber drawing tower. Here we demonstrate a simple, continuous, and low-cost approach to produce microstructured optical fibers in a single-step from the pellets of the optical material directly to the final fiber by using a commercial table-top filament extruder. This single-step fabrication procedure is time, electrical power, and floor space efficient. As proof-of-concept of the viability of this novel manufacturing approach, we demonstrate the fabrication of three different fiber geometries (hexagonal-lattice solid core, suspended core and hollow core) using Zeonex as the optical material. We also show the manufacture of an active optical fiber by using ABS polymer doped with luminescent Rhodamin dye. For all three fiber types, the microstructured geometry was evaluated. For the hollow core fiber, air guidance in a wavelength range where the fiber material is opaque was shown.
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