Coating fusion spliced optical fibers and subsequent processing methods thereof
AssigneeCorning Research & Development Corporation
InventorsAnil Bastola, Wei Liu, Randy LaRue McClure, Chad Charles Terwilliger, Elizabeth Tran, Chanh Cuong Vo, Qi Wu
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present disclosure relates to a polymeric overcoating used as a splice protector, and a corresponding method of application where the resulting coated fusion spliced optical fibers or coated fusion spliced optical fiber ribbons can be bundled or stacked to reduce the size of splice protection.
Claims22
A fiber optic cable assembly comprising:
- first and second optical fibers each including a pre-coated section and a stripped section;
- a fusion splice including a splice joint joining ends of the stripped sections of the first and second optical fibers;
- and
- a polymeric overcoating extending over the stripped section of each of the first and the second optical fibers, the splice joint, and at least a portion of the pre-coated section of each of the first and the second optical fibers;
- wherein the polymeric overcoating has an elongation at break of greater than 100% as measured by ASTM D638;
- wherein the polymeric overcoating has a UV curing time of between 1 second and 1 minute at a temperature of about 25° C.;
- and
- wherein the polymeric overcoating has a viscosity of between 10,000 centipoise (cP) and 50,000 cP as measured by DSTM502.
A method for protecting fusion spliced first and second optical fibers that each include a stripped section and a pre-coated section, wherein a splice joint joins ends of the stripped sections of the first and second optical fibers, the method comprising:
- coating the splice joint, the stripped sections of the first and second optical fibers, and a portion of the pre-coated section of the first and second optical fibers with a polymeric overcoating;
- curing the polymeric overcoating;
- wherein curing the polymeric overcoating comprises curing under UV light at a temperature of about 25° C. for a curing time of between 1 second and 1 minute;
- wherein the polymeric overcoating has a viscosity of greater than 10,000 centipoise (cP) at a temperature of about 25° C.
A method for protecting fusion spliced optical fiber ribbons, the method comprising:
- splicing first and second optical fiber ribbons that each include a stripped section and a pre-coated section, wherein a first splice joint joins ends of the stripped sections of the first and second optical fiber ribbons to form a first fusion spliced optical fiber ribbon;
- splicing third and fourth optical fiber ribbons that each include a stripped section and a pre-coated section, wherein a second splice joint joins ends of the stripped sections of the third and fourth optical fiber ribbons to form a second fusion spliced optical fiber ribbon;
- coating the first fusion spliced optical fiber ribbon with a first polymeric overcoating, wherein the first polymeric overcoating coats the first splice joint, the stripped sections of the first and second optical fibers, and a portion of the pre-coated section of the first and second optical fibers;
- coating the second fusion spliced optical fiber ribbon with a second polymeric overcoating, wherein the second polymeric overcoating coats the second splice joint, the stripped sections of the third and fourth optical fibers, and a portion of the pre-coated section of the third and fourth optical fibers;
- bundling the first coated fusion spliced optical fiber ribbon and the second coated fusion spliced optical fiber ribbon such that the first coated fusion spliced optical fiber ribbon and the second coated fusion spliced optical fiber ribbon are adjacent to each other;
- and
- curing the first and second polymeric overcoatings;
- wherein curing the first and second polymeric overcoatings comprises curing under UV light at a temperature of about 25° C. for a curing time of between 1 second and 1 minute;
- wherein the first and second polymeric overcoatings have a viscosity of greater than 10,000 centipoise (cP) at a temperature of about 25° C.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.