EoW January 2014

78 / 108

Technical article
January 2014 76
Abstract
UV cured acrylate type coating materials
for mid-temperature optical fibres
(operating temperatures up to +200°C)
are considered as a replacement for the
existing silicone type coating materials
due to better manufacturability and
handling (stripping, cleaning and re-
coating) properties.
A newly developed coating material
demonstrated superior performance in
comparison with the existing commercial
mid-temperature acrylates. Long-term
temperature aging of several fibre samples
was used to study fibre performance at
elevated temperatures.
Optical attenuation and fibre strength
were measured at different conditions to
confirm the excellent performance and
durability of the new material.
1 Introduction
Telecom grade UV cured acrylate coating
materials for optical fibres are good
for operating temperatures up to 85°C
in long-term applications but suffer
non-reversible degradation at higher
temperatures for prolonged periods.
Today several commercial UV cured
acrylate type coating materials, including
primary and secondary ones, are available
for mid-temperature applications at
150°C–180°C.1-4 Single or dual coat designs
are available.
Temperature aging of optical fibre
by temperature cycling or constant
temperature in normal atmosphere is the
New coating for mid
temperature optical fibres
By Ching-Kee Chien and Valery A Kozlov, Science and Technology, Corning Inc, USA
▼ ▼ Figure 1: TGA test of the new and commercial mid-temperature coatings at heating rate of 10°C/min
▼ ▼ Figure 2: TGA test for single coat fibre sample with new and commercial materials at heating rate of 20°C/min
TGA weight, %
Temperature, °C
Weight loss, %
Temperature, °C
New
Commercial
New
Commercial