Optical fibers possessing a primary coating with a higher degree of cure and methods of making
First Claim
1. An optical fiber comprising:
- a fiber comprising at least a core;
a primary coating substantially encapsulating the fiber, the primary coating being the cured product of a first polymerizable composition comprising a first photoinitiator which absorbs light within a range of the UV spectrum; and
a secondary coating substantially encapsulating the primary coating on the fiber, the secondary coating being the cured product of a second polymerizable composition comprising a second photoinitiator which also absorbs light within the range of the UV spectrum, wherein an average integrated intensity for the second photoinitiator is 95% or less of the average integrated intensity for the primary photoinitiator over at least a portion of the range of the UV spectrum.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An optical fiber including: a fiber including at least a core; a primary coating substantially encapsulating the fiber, the primary coating being the cured product of a first polymerizable composition including a first photoinitiator which absorbs light within a range of the UV spectrum; and a secondary coating substantially encapsulating the primary coating on the fiber, the secondary coating being the cured product of a second polymerizable composition including a second photoinitiator which also absorbs light within the range of the UV spectrum, wherein an average integrated intensity for the second photoinitiator is 95% or less of the average integrated intensity for the primary photoinitiator over at least a portion of the range of the UV spectrum. Also disclosed are fiber optic ribbons including the optical fibers, methods of making the optical fibers, and methods of increasing the degree of cure for a primary coating on an optical fiber.
-
Citations
60 Claims
-
1. An optical fiber comprising:
-
a fiber comprising at least a core;
a primary coating substantially encapsulating the fiber, the primary coating being the cured product of a first polymerizable composition comprising a first photoinitiator which absorbs light within a range of the UV spectrum; and
a secondary coating substantially encapsulating the primary coating on the fiber, the secondary coating being the cured product of a second polymerizable composition comprising a second photoinitiator which also absorbs light within the range of the UV spectrum, wherein an average integrated intensity for the second photoinitiator is 95% or less of the average integrated intensity for the primary photoinitiator over at least a portion of the range of the UV spectrum. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 60)
-
-
12. A method of making an optical fiber comprising:
-
first coating a fiber with a first polymerizable composition comprising a first photoinitiator which absorbs light within a range of the UV spectrum;
second coating the coated fiber with a second polymerizable composition comprising a second photoinitiator which also absorbs light within the range of the UV spectrum, wherein an average integrated intensity for the second photoinitiator is 95% or less of the average integrated intensity for the primary photoinitiator over at least a portion of the range of the UV spectrum; and
exposing the twice coated fiber to a UV light source under conditions effective to promote curing of the first and second polymerizable compositions, thereby forming an optical fiber. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
-
-
37. A method of increasing the degree of cure for a primary coating on an optical fiber, said method comprising:
-
coating an optical fiber with first and second polymerizable compositions, the first polymerizable composition comprising a first photoinitiator which absorbs light within a range of the UV spectrum and the second polymerizable composition a second photoinitiator which absorbs light within the range of the UV spectrum, wherein an average integrated intensity for the second photoinitiator is 85% or less of the average integrated intensity for the primary photoinitiator over at least a portion of the range of the UV spectrum; and
exposing the twice coated optical fiber to a UV light source under conditions effective to promote curing of the first and second polymerizable compositions, wherein the differential integrated intensity for the first and second photoinitiators increases the exposure of the first polymerizable composition to UV light, thereby increasing the degree of cure for the primary coating. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
-
Specification