Accelerated aging of phosphorus-doped optical fibers
AssigneeOFS Fitel, LLC
InventorsDavid J. DiGiovanni, Robert Lingle, JR., Michael LuValle, George E. Oulundsen, Durgesh Shivram Vaidya
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Abstract
Adverse hydrogen aging limitations in multiply-doped optical fibers are overcome by passivating these optical fibers using a deuterium passivation process. This treatment essentially pre-reacts the glass with deuterium so that the most active glass sites are no longer available to react with hydrogen in service. Optical fibers of main interest are doped with mixtures of germanium and phosphorus. Optimum passivating process conditions are described.
Claims16
Method for passivating an optical fiber, wherein the optical fiber is SiO2 co-doped with GeO2 and P2O5, comprising the step of heating the optical fiber in an atmosphere containing deuterium at a temperature in the range 65-100 degrees C. for at least 2 hours.
Method for passivating optical fiber comprising the step of heating optical fiber in an atmosphere containing deuterium at a pressure in the range P1 to P2, a temperature in the range T1 to T2, and for a time in the range t1 to t2, followed by heating at a temperature in the range T1 to T2 in an inert atmosphere for a time t3 to t4, wherein P1, T1 and t1 and P2, T2, and t2, and t3 and t4 are determined by establishing a correlation between at least several values of P, T, and t with both a hydrogen activity and a hydrogen activation energy value.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.