Curing of compositions for fiber optics

摘要

A system and method for curing compositions on optical fibers. A UV curing cassette is provided with an elongate tube through which the optical fiber is drawn. A pair of medium pressure arc lamps are positioned on diametrically opposite sides of the tube and a pair of reflectors are positioned around the respective arc lamps. A stepless power supply is connected to the arc lamps to drive the lamps, thereby generating ultraviolet light. The arc lamps are selected and adjusted, if necessary, to produce a wavelength output that substantially correlates with at least one wavelength range of the absorbency spectrum of the photoinitiator in the composition to be cured. By this system and method, UV curable compositions may be cured to a high curing percentage at quick draw speeds to produce optical fibers of strong but flexible fiber quality.