Patent ID: 7702205

Claim:
An optical fiber made of silica-based glass, comprising: a center core region containing germanium having a first refractive index; an outer core layer containing fluorine having a second refractive index formed on an outer circumference of the center core region; and a cladding layer made of pure silica glass having a third refractive index formed on an outer circumference of the outer core layer, wherein the second refractive index is lower than the first refractive index, the third refractive index is higher than the second refractive index and lower than the first refractive index, a maximum relative refractive index difference Δ 1 of the center core region with respect to the cladding layer is 0.30% to 0.35%, a relative refractive index difference Δ 2 of the outer core layer with respect to the cladding layer is −0.10% to −0.04%, a ratio of the relative refractive index difference Δ 1 to the relative refractive index difference Δ 2 is 2.5:1 to 7.5:1, a diameter a of the center core region is 9.0 micrometers to 10.5 micrometers, a ratio a/b of the diameter a of the center core region to a diameter b of the outer core layer is 0.20 to 0.35, and optical characteristics of the optical fiber show that a cutoff wavelength is equal to or shorter than 1310 nanometers, a zero dispersion wavelength is 1285 nanometers to 1345 nanometers, a mode field diameter at a wavelength of 1550 nanometers is equal to or larger than 10.5 micrometers, a transmission loss at the wavelength of 1550 nanometers is equal to or lower than 0.185 dB/km, and a bending loss at the wavelength of 1550 nanometers is equal to or lower than 15 dB/m.