Optical fiber manufacturing techniques

The cost of fiber has been steadily decreasing because of the experience learned in production and developments in fiber processing. In this paper we will review the processes for making optical fibers, dwelling mostly on the fiber drawing process. Our results show that the fiber draw rate has been increased to more than 10 m/s without any degradation in fiber performance and specifications. The technology is not fully mature and it is likely that even higher rates should be achievable.