Infrared loss increase phenomenon of coated optical fibers at high temperatures

The loss increase phenomenon of coated optical fibers at high temperature has been studied. The wavelength dependent loss increase, observed for plastic-coated fibers at 200°C, is found to be irreversible. During heating, the absorption peak of second overtone of Ge-OH preferentially appeared. The dependence of the loss increase on temperature, heating time, and dopant is also examined. The loss increase level is strongly dependent on phosphorous concentration. The experimental results indicate that the loss increase is caused by chemical reactions between fiber constituent materials and hydrogen generated from coating materials. It is also confirmed that the heating test of secondary coated fiber is a practical, useful method to evaluate the hydroxyl loss increase of optical fibers.