Method of curing dual-coated optical fiber.

摘要

A method of curing a dual-coated optical fiber is disclosed in which primary and secondary coating materials are simultaneously applied to a glass fiber 21 and then simultaneously cured. The primary coating material encloses and engages the glass fiber 21, while the secondary coating material encloses and engages the primary coating material. A photoinitiator is added to the primary and secondary coating materials. The photoinitiators respond to electromagnetic energy radiated from a source 30 of electromagnetic radiation comprising one or more curing lamps having identical emission spectra; however, the photoinitiator added to the primary coating material is selected to be substantially more responsive to the radiation source than the photoinitiator added to the secondary coating material. In one case, each photoinitiator responds to a different wavelength region of the emission spectrum of the curing lamps; and in another case, the photoinitiators both respond to the same region of the spectrum -- but are applied in different concentrations so that the primary coating material cures before the secondary coating material does.