Drawing of high-strength long-length optical fibers

Abstract A drawing process for high-strength long-length optical fibers, in which flaws due to the contamination of the glass surface by dust generated in the drawing furnace are eliminated, is developed. The tensile strength of the fiber drawn in a dusty furnace is determined quantitatively as a function of the radius of the dust particles. Silicone-coated silica fibers drawn from various kinds of silica preforms are proof-tested. An average proof success length of more than 8 km at a proof stress of 2.40 GPa is achieved for VAD synthetic silica fibers.