Strength improvement and fusion splicing for carbon-coated optical fiber

Problems associated with the use of carbon coating on silica fibers, including the initial strength and fusion splicing, were examined. A carbon-coated fiber with 6.2-kgf failure strength and excellent hydrogen resistance was obtained by suppressing strength degradation due to carbon coating. A scanning microscope utilized to estimate the carbon surface roughness and a smooth surface was found to be essential to obtain high strength. These results show that no significant technical problems remain for carbon-coated fiber and that it is now ready for practical application.<
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