Abstract
There has been an increasing need to use optical fibers in harsh environments where exposure to high stresses, moisture, and hydrogen can affect long term reliability. Carbon coatings have been shown to be extremely effective in improving the resistance of optical fibers to both static fatigue and hydrogen-induced losses.1,2 However, the challenges of establishing a high volume hermetic fiber manufacturing operation lie in designing a process which is capable of deposition at high draw speeds, is controllable over long fiber lengths, and is economical in that yields are not adversely affected. In addition, the production process must be amenable to quality assurance procedures which insure a hermetic product. In the past 18 months, each of these issues has been addressed in the course of manufacturing over 7500 km of carbon coated hermetic fiber at the AT&T Atlanta Works.
© 1990 Optical Society of America
PDF ArticleMore Like This
C.M.G. Jochem, H. Schaper, M.J.M.J. Swarts, and J.W.M. Smits
PD8 Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC) 1989
R. G. HUFF, F. V. DIMARCELLO, and A. C. HART
TuG2 Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC) 1988
K. E. LU
THH4 Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC) 1990