Dual-color coating of optical fibers with UV curable inks

摘要

A method of coating a silica-silica optical fiber, comprising, in a single pass on a fiber coating machine: applying a primary layer of UV curable acrylate carrying a first color, on said fiber; and applying a second layer of UV curable acrylate carrying a second color different from the first color, on top of the primary layer, the second layer being applied in patterns over the primary layer. The method is used to identify fibers in bundles or loose tubes where there are more fibers than there are basic colors.

主权项

1. A method of using a fiber coating machine for coating a silica-silica optical fiber, the fiber comprising a colorless acrylate dual-layer primary coating over a cladding, the fiber with said cladding and said colorless acrylate dual-layer primary coating being provided by a fiber manufacturer, the method being carried out by an end user of the fiber, the method comprising,
providing said fiber comprising a colorless acrylate dual-layer primary coating over a cladding as provided by said manufacturer to said fiber coating machine; in a single pass on said fiber coating machine: applying over said colorless acrylate dual-layer primary coating a first layer of UV curable acrylate, said layer carrying a first color; and applying a second layer of UV curable acrylate on said first layer, said second layer carrying a second color different from said first color, thereby providing by said end user two layers of colored UV curable acrylate with two different colors over said colorless acrylate dual-layer primary coating of said fiber as provided by said manufacturer.