Patent ID: 7673477

Claim:
An optical fiber processing apparatus comprising: a reactor chamber that accommodates an optical fiber; a suction pump having an intake port and an outlet port; a gas cylinder which provides deuterium containing gas; a storage chamber into which said deuterium containing gas is delivered from said gas cylinder; and a circuit portion including a plurality of open/close valves over a plurality of paths that connect said reactor chamber, said suction pump, and said storage chamber, said circuit portion further including: a first channel that opens through performance of a first valve operation that, after completion of processing, takes in deuterium containing gas inside said reactor chamber from said intake port of said suction pump, and expels out said deuterium containing gas from said outlet port of said suction pump, returning said deuterium containing gas to said storage chamber; a second channel that opens through performance of a second valve operation that delivers air into said reactor chamber making the pressure inside said reactor chamber atmospheric pressure; a third channel that opens through performance of a third valve operation, that takes in air inside said reactor chamber from said intake port of said suction pump and expels out said air from said outlet port of said suction pump into the atmosphere, decompressing the pressure inside said reactor chamber; and a fourth channel that opens through performance of a fourth valve operation, that takes in deuterium containing gas inside said storage chamber from said intake port of said suction pump and expels out said deuterium containing gas from said outlet port of said suction pump, supplying said deuterium containing gas to said reactor chamber.