Patent ID: 7946134
Filing Date: 2011-05-24
Classification: C03B

Abstract:
1. Process for the manufacture of optical fiber comprising: (a) preparing an optical fiber preform, (b) heating the preform to the softening temperature, and (c) drawing an optical fiber from the preform, the invention characterized in that the optical fiber preform is prepared by steps comprising: (i) forming by MCVD: (ii) collapsing the MCVD tube to produce a first solid glass cylindrical body having core material, first cladding material on the core material, and a layer of MCVD starting tube material on the first cladding material, where the layer of MCVD starting tube material has an outside diameter OD (iii) removing a portion of the layer of MCVD starting tube material to form a second solid glass cylindrical body of core material, first cladding material on the core material, and a residual layer of MCVD starting tube material on the cladding material, wherein the portion of the layer of MCVD starting tube material removed is expressed as: where OD (iv) applying a cladding to the second solid glass cylindrical body by inserting the second solid glass cylindrical body into a cladding tube leaving an ambient space between the solid glass cylindrical body and the overclad tube, controlling the ambient space by flowing gas through the ambient space and collapsing the cladding tube around the second solid glass cylindrical body.