Conductor insulated with foamed fluoropolymer and method of making same

摘要

A communications cable is provided having at least one elongate electrical conductor surrounded by a layer of insulating material, said layer comprising a foamed fluorinated polymer formed using a liquid or solid blowing agent having a vaporization temperature at ambient temperature of between about 140 DEG F. and about 700 DEG F. The elongate electrical conductors can be provided as at least one pair of twisted wires, each wire thereof surrounded by a layer of insulating material comprising the foamed fluorinated polymer. The communications cable includes insulated wires which possess a layer of foamed fluorinated polymer insulating material having uniform thickness and electrical properties along the length of the wire. In addition, the fluorinated polymer can be applied on the conductor in a relatively thin layer which minimizes the amount of fluorinated polymer material used to insulate the individual conductors. The present invention also includes a method of making an insulated conductor using these solid or liquid blowing agents.