# US 12,006,253 B2 · Methods and apparatuses for UV curing of optical fiber coatings > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,006,253 B2 - Document ID: US12006253B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/030,605 - Filed: 2020-09-24 - Published: 2021-04-01 - Granted: 2024-06-11 - Earliest claimed: 2019-09-27 - Assignees: Corning Incorporated - Applicants: Corning Incorporated - Inventors: Dana Craig Bookbinder; Stephan Lvovich Logunov; Darren Andrew Stainer; Pushkar Tandon; Ruchi Tandon - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12006253B2 ## CPC - C03C 25/104: to obtain optical fibres - C03C 17/06: with metals (C03C17/34, C03C17/44 take precedence) - C03C 17/22: with other inorganic material (C03C17/34, C03C17/44 take precedence) - C03C 17/23: Oxides (C03C17/02 takes precedence) - C03C 25/106: Single coatings - C03C 25/1065: Multiple coatings - C03C 25/12: General methods of coating; Devices therefor - C03C 25/285: Acrylic resins - C03C 25/326: Polyureas; Polyurethanes - C03C 25/6226: Ultraviolet - G02B 6/02395: {Glass optical fibre with a protective coating, e.g. two layer polymer coating deposited directly on a silica cladding surface during fibre manufacture (G02B6/02052, G02B6/02057, G02B6/024, G02B6/032, G02B6/105, G02B6/14 take precedence; coating on fibre gratings G02B6/02104; multilayer core or cladding G02B6/036; reinforcing splice joints G02B6/2558; optical cables, i.e. comprising protective structures external to the protective coating such as a jacket or plural coated optical fibres G02B6/44; coating of glass to obtain optical fibres C03C25/104)} - C03C 2217/425: consisting of a porous layer - C03C 2217/73: Anti-reflective coatings with specific characteristics - C03C 2217/732: made of a single layer - C03C 2217/734: comprising an alternation of high and low refractive indexes - C03C: CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF GLASSES, GLAZES OR VITREOUS ENAMELS; SURFACE TREATMENT OF GLASS; SURFACE TREATMENT OF FIBRES OR FILAMENTS MADE FROM GLASS, MINERALS OR SLAGS; JOINING GLASS TO GLASS OR OTHER MATERIALS - G02B: OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS ## Abstract An optical fiber curing component includes a first tube comprising a first body defining a first interior surface and a first exterior surface, the first tube defining a first aperture and a second aperture on opposite ends of a first cavity, wherein the first tube defines a central axis extending through the first cavity; light sources coupled to the first body of the first tube and configured to emit light toward the central axis of the first tube, wherein each of the light sources intersect a common plane defined perpendicular to the central axis of the first tube; a silica glass article, having an anti-reflective coating, disposed between each of the plurality of light sources and the central axis of the first tube; and a reflective coating positioned on the interior surface of the first body and configured to reflect the light toward the central axis of the first tube. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An optical fiber curing component, comprising: a first tube comprising a first body defining a first interior surface and a first exterior surface, the first tube defining a first aperture and a second aperture on opposite ends of a first cavity, wherein the first tube defines a central axis extending through the first cavity; a plurality of light sources coupled to the first body of the first tube and configured to emit light having a wavelength range from about 250 nm to about 410 nm toward the central axis of the first tube, wherein each of the light sources intersect a common plane defined perpendicular to the central axis of the first tube; a silica glass article having an anti-reflective coating, wherein the silica glass article is disposed between each of the plurality of light sources and the central axis of the first tube; and a reflective coating positioned on the interior surface of the first body and configured to reflect the light toward the central axis of the first tube. ### Claim 2 An optical fiber curing component, comprising: a first tube comprising a first body defining a first interior surface and a first exterior surface, the first tube defining a first aperture and a second aperture on opposite ends of a first cavity, wherein the first tube defines a central axis extending through the first cavity; a plurality of light sources coupled to the first body of the first tube; and a silica glass article having an anti-reflective coating, wherein the silica glass article is disposed between at least one light source of the plurality of light sources and the central axis of the first tube, wherein the silica glass article comprises at least one of: one or more windows disposed within the first body of the first tube, or a second tube within the cavity. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The optical fiber curing component of claim 2, wherein the first body of the first tube defines the one or more windows, and wherein each of the plurality of light sources is configured to emit light toward the central axis of the first tube through each of a corresponding window. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The optical fiber curing component of claim 2, wherein the second tube comprises a second body defining an interior surface and an exterior surface, the second tube defining a first aperture and a second aperture on opposite ends of a second cavity, wherein the central axis extends through the second cavity. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The optical fiber curing component of claim 2, wherein each of the light sources of the plurality of light sources comprises an array of light emitting diodes. ### Claim 6 (depends on 2) The optical fiber curing component of claim 2, wherein the plurality of light sources is equally spaced around the first tube. ### Claim 7 (depends on 2) The optical fiber curing component of claim 2, wherein a distance between at least one of the plurality of light sources and the central axis is from about 1 cm to about 7 cm. ### Claim 8 (depends on 2) The optical fiber curing component of claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of light sources is substantially equally spaced from the central axis of the first tube. ### Claim 9 (depends on 2) The optical fiber curing component of claim 2, further comprising: a second plurality of light sources positioned below the plurality of light sources, wherein the second plurality of light sources are positioned to emit light toward the central axis of the first tube. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The optical fiber curing component of claim 9, wherein each of the first and second plurality of light sources is configured to produce an intensity of light of from about 10 W/cm2 to about 400 W/cm2 as measured at the central axis of the first tube. ### Claim 11 (depends on 2) The optical fiber curing component of claim 2, wherein at least one of a length of the first tube or a length of the second tube is from about 100 cm to about 700 cm. ### Claim 12 (depends on 2) The optical fiber curing component of claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of light sources has a length in a direction parallel to the central axis and the light emitted by each of the plurality of light sources has a wavelength that varies along the length. ### Claim 13 A method of coating an optical fiber, comprising: applying a curable composition on a moving optical fiber; passing the optical fiber and the curable composition along a central axis of a curing component comprising: a first tube comprising a first body defining a first interior surface and a first exterior surface, the first tube defining a first aperture and a second aperture on opposite ends of a first cavity, wherein the first tube defines a central axis extending through the first cavity, a plurality of light sources coupled to the first body of the first tube and configured to emit light having a wavelength range from about 250 nm to about 410 nm toward the central axis of the first tube, wherein each of the light sources intersect a common plane defined perpendicular to the central axis of the first tube, a silica glass article having an anti-reflective coating, wherein the silica glass article is disposed between each of the plurality of light sources and the central axis of the first tube, and a reflective coating positioned on the interior surface of the first body and configured to reflect the light toward the central axis of the first tube; emitting light from the plurality of light sources toward the central axis of the curing component; reflecting the light off of the reflective coating positioned on the interior surface of the curing component; and curing the curable composition into a coating using the light. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein the silica glass article is one or more windows disposed within the first body of the first tube, a second tube within the cavity, or a combination thereof. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, wherein the first body of the first tube defines the one or more windows, and wherein each of the plurality of light sources is configured to emit light toward the central axis of the first tube through each of a corresponding window. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, wherein the second tube comprises a second body defining an interior surface and an exterior surface, the second tube defining a first aperture and a second aperture on opposite ends of a second cavity, wherein the central axis extends through the second cavity. ### Claim 17 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, further comprising: applying a curable ink composition over the curable composition on the optical fiber; and curing the curable ink composition and the curable composition with the light simultaneously. ### Claim 18 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein the optical fiber is moving at a speed of from about 30 m/s to about 100 m/s, and wherein the light comprises ultraviolet light and has an intensity of from about 48 W/cm2 to about 384 W/cm2 as measured at the central axis of the first tube. ### Claim 19 (depends on 2) The optical fiber curing component of claim 2, further comprising: a reflective coating positioned on the interior surface of the first body and configured to reflect the light toward the central axis of the first tube. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The optical fiber curing component of claim 19, wherein the plurality of light sources is configured to emit light having a wavelength range from about 250 nm to about 410 nm toward the central axis of the first tube, and wherein each of the light sources intersects a common plane defined perpendicular to the central axis of the first tube.