Corning Incorporated

Chukwuemeka Benneth Onuh

Dana Craig Bookbinder

Ming-Jun Li

Pushkar Tandon

Scott Robertson Bickham

Susan Lee Schiefelbein

John Steele Abbott, Iii

Wanda Janina Walczak

Sonya Marie Raney

Samir Khanna

Sabyasachi Sen

Joseph M Whalen

Kimberly Ann Wilbert

Jitendra Balakrishnan

Kintu O Early

Hazel B Matthews

Tiffany L James

Claude E Lacy

Bend resistant multimode optical fibers are disclosed herein. Multimode optical fibers disclosed herein comprise a core region and a cladding region surrounding and directly adjacent to the core region, the cladding region comprising a depressed-index annular portion comprising a depressed relative refractive index which is spaced from the core at least 0.5 microns and less than 4 microns.

Bend resistant multimode optical fiber

According to an embodiment of the invention a method of manufacturing optical fiber cane comprises the steps of: (i) providing a core rod manufactured of relatively low viscosity glass; (ii) depositing SiObased soot around the core rod to form a soot preform, the soot being of relatively high viscosity material such that the softening point of the low viscosity glass is at least 200&#xb0; C. lower than the viscosity of the high viscosity outer core region; and (iii) consolidating the soot of the soot preform by exposure to hot zone at temperatures of 1000&#xb0; C.-1600&#xb0; C. The soot is consolidated by heating the outer portion of the soot preform at a relatively fast heating rate, the heating rate being sufficient to densify the soot, so as to render the densified material with enough rigidity to confine the heated core rod and to prevent the heated core rod from puddling.

Reduction of optical fiber cane/preform deformation in consolidation

The invention includes inventive methods of treating a soot preform. One method includes heating a soot preform to a temperature of less than about 1000&deg; C. and exposing the preform to a substantially halide free reducing agent. Preferred reducing agents include carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide. Another inventive method of treating the preform includes exposing the preform, in a furnace, to a substantially non-chlorine containing atmosphere comprising carbon monoxide. The preform is heated to a temperature of at least about 1000&deg; C. Preferably this method is incorporated into the process for making an optical fiber. An additional method of treating the preform includes doping the preform with fluorine and exposing the fluorine doped preform to a substantially chlorine free atmosphere comprising at least carbon monoxide at a temperature of at least 1100&deg; C., thereby reacting excess oxygen present in the furnace.

Treating an optical fiber preform with carbon monoxide

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Wilmington, NC, United States of America

Chukwuemeka Benneth Onuh