Manufacturing optical fibre
AssigneeStandard Telephones and Cables Public Limited Company
InventorsJohn G. Lamb, Terence M. McHugh
Life of this patent
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Abstract
On line coating of optical fibre (20) adopts silicon nitride or oxynitride to provide an hermetic seal using chemical vapor deposition. Non-contacting gas seals (3,4) at the top and bottom of the reaction chamber are so constructed that fibre vibration is avoided, (6) surface flaws are minimized and the coating minimizes stress corrosion.
Claims6
A method of manufacturing an optical fibre comprising drawing the fibre through an on-line process chamber to physically and/or chemically change the surface of the fibre within the chamber, and sealing the atmosphere within the chamber at least at one end of the chamber by a seal into which a sealing gas is introduced and so controlled as to prevent the process gases escaping from the chamber without the fibre touching the walls of the seal and without vibrating the fibre.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.