Patent ID: 8548293

Claim:
A fiber optic cable comprising: a single bend-insensitive optical fiber that extends along a length of the fiber optic cable, the optical fiber including a first cladding layer surrounding a core, a trench layer surrounding the first cladding layer, a second cladding layer surrounding the trench layer, and a coating layer surrounding the second cladding layer, the coating layer having an outer diameter less than 500 μm; a strength layer including a sheet-like reinforcing structure, the sheet-like reinforcing structure surrounding-the single bend-insensitive optical fiber to form a cylindrical reinforcing tube, the sheet-like reinforcing structure having longitudinal edges that overlap each other along a longitudinal seam, the reinforcing tube extending along the length of the fiber optic cable; and an outer jacket surrounding the sheet-like reinforcing structure, the outer jacket having an outer diameter less than 1.6 mm, and the outer jacket extending along the length of the fiber optic cable; and the fiber optic cable having a construction with no buffer layer positioned between the coating layer of the single bend-insensitive optical fiber and the sheet-like reinforcing structure, wherein the reinforcing tube formed by the sheet-like reinforcing structure defines a longitudinal bore for receiving the single bend-insensitive optical fiber, and wherein the reinforcing tube defined by the sheet-like reinforcing structure contacts the coating layer of the single bend-insensitive optical fiber and is configured to separate the single bend-insensitive optical fiber from the outer jacket; wherein the sheet-like reinforcing structure includes aramid yarns held together by a matrix material that maintains a distribution of the aramid yards around the single bend-insensitive optical fiber, and wherein the matrix material of the sheet-like reinforcing structure is bonded to an inner diameter of the outer jacket.