Optical fiber and method for producing optical fiber

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025052949-A1
Application number	US-202418932220-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 30, 2024
Priority date	Jun 11, 2020
Publication date	Feb 13, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

A method of manufacturing an optical fiber includes heating a distal end portion of an optical fiber preform made of glass; drawing a glass fiber from the distal end portion softened by the heating; and forming a coating layer made of resin on the glass fiber to form an optical fiber. The drawing includes periodically varying a tension that is applied to the glass fiber to vary a diameter of the glass fiber and a residual stress in an axial direction of the glass fiber so as to be in phases opposite to each other along the axial direction.

First claim

1 . A method of manufacturing an optical fiber, the method comprising:
heating a distal end portion of an optical fiber preform made of glass; drawing a glass fiber from the distal end portion softened by the heating; forming a coating layer made of resin on the glass fiber to form an optical fiber; and guiding the optical fiber continuous with the glass fiber to a winder, wherein the drawing includes periodically varying a tension that is applied to the glass fiber to vary a diameter of the glass fiber and a residual stress in an axial direction of the glass fiber so as to be in phases opposite to each other along the axial direction, and wherein the guiding includes periodically varying a length of a travel path of the optical fiber to periodically vary the tension that is applied in the drawing.

2 . The method of manufacturing an optical fiber according to claim 1 ,
wherein the guiding includes periodically moving a roller configured to change a travel direction of the optical fiber to periodically vary the length of the travel path.

3 . The method of manufacturing an optical fiber according to claim 1 , the method further comprising:
measuring at least one of the diameter and the tension of the glass fiber.

4 . The method of manufacturing an optical fiber according to claim 1 , the method further comprising:
gripping the optical fiber preform and inserting the optical fiber preform into a heating furnace at a constant speed, wherein the heating includes heating the distal end portion by the heating furnace.

Assignees

• Sumitomo Electric Industries

Inventors

• Hasegawa Takemi
• Kawaguchi Yuki

Classifications

• G02B6/03694

  Multiple layers differing in properties other than the refractive index, e.g. attenuation, diffusion, stress properties · CPC title

• G02B6/02071

  Mechanically induced gratings, e.g. having microbends (G02B6/02066 takes precedence; mode converters G02B6/14) · CPC title

• C03B37/02763 Primary

  Fibres having axial variations, e.g. axially varying diameter, material or optical properties (rotational spin C03B37/02745) · CPC title

• C03B37/02736

  Means for supporting, rotating or feeding the tubes, rods, fibres or filaments to be drawn, e.g. fibre draw towers, preform alignment, butt-joining preforms or dummy parts during feeding (uniting rods or tubes C03B23/207) · CPC title

• G02B6/02052

  comprising optical elements other than gratings, e.g. filters (comprising gratings G02B6/02057) · CPC title