Enhanced fatigue and aging resistance using reactive powders in the optical fiber buffer coating

Vincenzo V. Rondinella; M. John Matthewson; Paul R. Foy; Steven R. Schmid; Vadim V. Krongayz

doi:10.1117/12.168644

1 March 1994 Enhanced fatigue and aging resistance using reactive powders in the optical fiber buffer coating

Vincenzo V. Rondinella, M. John Matthewson, Paul R. Foy, Steven R. Schmid, Vadim V. Krongayz

Proceedings Volume 2074, Fiber Optics Reliability and Testing: Benign and Adverse Environments; (1994) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.168644
Event: Optical Tools for Manufacturing and Advanced Automation, 1993, Boston, MA, United States

Abstract

We have shown in previous work that the addition of small quantities of colloidal silica to the UV- curable polymer coating of fused silica optical fiber causes a dramatic improvement in the fatigue and aging resistance both in aqueous and in constant humidity environments. The presence of silica in the coating inhibits the mechanisms responsible for the surface roughening that causes the fatigue knee and strength degradation during zero-stress aging. This work presents results which show the effect of higher concentrations of the silica additive (6 wt%) and of an adhesion promoting agent on both the rheological properties of the polymer coating and the fatigue and zero-stress aging behavior of the fiber. Viscosity measurements show thixotropic behavior which indicates that the silica particles tend to form a network structure in the prepolymer. Filtration of the prepolymer to remove large particles is hampered by this phenomenon. The fiber coated with the silica-containing polymer exhibits substantial improvement in the long term mechanical reliability compared to a reference fiber without additive in the coating.

Citation Download Citation

Vincenzo V. Rondinella, M. John Matthewson, Paul R. Foy, Steven R. Schmid, and Vadim V. Krongayz "Enhanced fatigue and aging resistance using reactive powders in the optical fiber buffer coating", Proc. SPIE 2074, Fiber Optics Reliability and Testing: Benign and Adverse Environments, (1 March 1994); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.168644

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