OPTICAL FIBER CABLE ASSEMBLY COMPRISING OPTICAL TRACER FIBER

摘要

An optical fiber cable assembly is provided including a tracer light source and an optical tracer fiber physically coupled to or surrounded by the cable jacket and defining a tracer scattering profile comprising a relatively high scattering loss at a tracer wavelength or wavelength range λT such that light is dispersed from the optical tracer fiber along at least a portion of its length. At a bend radius of less than approximately 25 mm, the scattering profile of the optical tracer fiber generates dispersed light of a luminance that is at least about twice light generated in a zero-bend portion. The optical intensity of the tracer light source is sufficient for the luminance of the dispersed light at λT or λT* to be at least approximately 80 cd/m2 at bend radii of 20 mm and below.

主权项

1. An optical fiber cable assembly comprising a tracer light source, at least one optical tracer fiber, one or more optical data transmission fibers, and a cable jacket, wherein:
the optical data transmission fibers are surrounded by the cable jacket and define a data transmission profile comprising a relatively low scattering loss of <10 dB/km at a data transmission wavelength or wavelength range λD that lies in an IR portion of the optical spectrum; the optical tracer fiber is physically coupled to or surrounded by the cable jacket and defines a tracer scattering profile comprising a relatively high scattering loss of >15 dB/km at a tracer wavelength between about 400 nm and about 700 nm or a tracer wavelength range λT that lies between about 400 nm and about 700 nm in a visible portion of the optical spectrum such that visible light at the tracer wavelength or wavelength range λT is dispersed from the optical tracer fiber along at least a portion of its length; at a bend radius of less than approximately 25 mm, (i) the tracer scattering profile of the optical tracer fiber generates dispersed visible light of a luminance that is at least about 2 times greater than dispersed visible light generated in a zero-bend portion of the optical tracer fiber at the tracer wavelength or wavelength range λT, or an optically visible shifted tracer wavelength or wavelength range λT*, and (ii) a tracer bending loss of the optical tracer fiber is at least about 10 times greater than a data transmission bending loss of the optical data transmission fiber, at the respective wavelengths or wavelength ranges λT, λD; an optical intensity of the tracer light source at the tracer wavelength or wavelength range λT is sufficient for the luminance of the dispersed visible light at λT or λT* to be at least approximately 80 cd/m2 at a bend radius of less than approximately 25 mm; and the optical fiber cable assembly is configured such that the dispersed visible light at the tracer wavelength or wavelength range λT or an optically visible shifted tracer wavelength or wavelength range λT* is visible from an exterior of the optical fiber cable assembly.