| 摘要 |
A silica-based optical fiber is provided, which has improved resistance to static fatigue. The fiber includes an outer layer 140 of modified, fused silica which contains zirconia and, optionally, alumina. The inventive fiber in one embodiement includes core 100, cladding 110, fused silica layer 120, fused silica layer 130, and anti-fatigue layer 140. According to an exemplary procedure, glass layers corresponding respectively, to the cladding and the core are first formed on the inner surface of a fused silica substrate tube by well-known MCVD methods. The substrate tube is collapsed, again by well-known methods, to form the inner portion of a fiber preform. The glass of the substrate tube corresponds to layer 120 of the ultimate fiber. The collapsed tube is placed within a second, fused silica tube, here referred to as the overcladding tube. The overcladding tube is then collapsed, exemplarily by heating it with oxyhydrogen torches on a vertical glass lathe, to form a solid, rod-like preform. The glass of the overcladding tube corresponds to layer 130. The material of the anti-fatigue layer is then applied. <IMAGE> |
