OPTICAL FIBER CONTAINING ALKALI METAL OXIDE

摘要

Disclosed is an optical fiber having a silica-based core comprising an alkali metal oxide a silica-based core, said core comprising an alkali metal oxide selected from the group consisting of K₂O, Na₂O, LiO₂, Rb₂O, Cs₂O and mixtures thereof in an average concentration in said core between about 50 and 1000 ppm by weight, and a silica-based cladding surrounding and directly adjacent the core, said fiber comprising a cable cutoff less than 1400nm chromatic dispersion at 1550nm between about 13 and 19 ps/nm/km and a zero dispersion wavelength less than about 1324nm. By appropriately selecting the concentration of alkali metal oxide dopant in the core and the cladding, a low loss optical fiber may be obtained.