USA as Represented by Secretary of the Navy

James H Daughtry

Steven J Cowen

Christopher M Young

James H Dombrowski

John T Redfern

Michael E Kono

The invention provides a process for fabricating a fiber optic microcable mposed of materials having properties which facilitate its manufacture. The microcable is comprised of an optical fiber core, a buffer surrounding the core, and a protective sheath surrounding the buffer consisting of an electromagnetic radiation cured resin impregnated with fibers suspended in the resin to enhance the resistance of the microcable to physical damage. The microcable is fabricated by soaking the fibers in an electromagnetic radiation curable resin, placing the wetted fibers around the core and buffer to form a matrix, and then irradiating the matrix with electromagnetic radiation to cure the resin.

Process for manufacturing a fiber reinforced optic microcable with a UV

A high pressure penetrator for use with fiber optic cables is fabricated by method which assures reliable operation. The method of fabrication first calls for providing a bore through the pressure wall of a container of instrumentation. Applying wax to one end of a cylindrically-shaped lens prepares it for alignment in the bore. A suitable lens is the one-half pitch graded refractive index lens of the type marketed under the trademark, SELFOC. The cylindrically-shaped lens is inserted into the bore to locate its far end flush with one side of the wall and so that the wax applied end of the lens lies within the bore at the wall's opposite side. Melting the wax allows it to flow around the tip of the wax applied end of the lens and a subsequent cooling of the melted wax precisely fixes the cylindrically-shaped lens into position within the bore. A high strength epoxy resin is potted in the clearance space between the lens and the bore by vacuum drawing the resin into the clearing space so that, upon curing the resin, the lens will be securely held in place to permit an optical aligning of fibers on either end of the lens to assure optical signal transfer.

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San Diego, CA, United States of America

James H Daughtry