Abstract

Thermally cured epoxies of various kinds are an essential part of almost all commercial optical fiber components because they provide the adhesion necessary for maintaining the structural integrity of the component over its lifetime. The rapid expansion of optical fiber networks is creating a need to deploy such components in the uncontrolled outdoor environment, which is causing a growing concern about their reliability. In this contribution we report an adverse aging effect on the integrity of fiber-epoxy-substrate structures for three commonly used epoxies that together account for the structural epoxies used in the majority of commercially available passive components such as optical power splitters, WDM couplers, etc.

© 1996 Optical Society of America