Abstract

We have investigated the long-term mechanical reliability of optical fibers by measuring their static fatigue resistance and tensile strengths after aging in water or humid environments. The fibers used were low-loss multimode fibers (having graded refractive index profiles) coated with UV-cured V-1F epoxy acrylate resin . ' Each fiber consisted of a 55m diameter core of germania doped fused silica clad with Amersil TO-8 fused silica to an overall diameter of 110m. Fibers were drawn from 8mm diameter preforms using either a graphite resistance furnace or a CO2 laser. The organic coating was approximately 60m thick and the glass fiber reasonably well centered within it.

© 1977 Optical Society of America