Transmission characteristics and reliability of pure-silica-core single-mode fibers

Transmission characteristics and reliability for pure-silica-core single-mode fiber with matched cladding are presented. On account of the "pure" silica core, without any additives, the fiber features the low attenuation and improved chemical stability under the existence of hydrogen and γ-ray radiation. High mechanical reliability and good splicing behavior of the fibers were also confirmed. More than 2000 km of pure-silica-core fiber have been fabricated, exhibiting median attenuation of 0.35 dB/km at 1.3 μm and 0.21 dB/ km at 1.55 μm. The achieved minimum attenuation was 0.154 dB/km at m, which is the lowest attenuation ever reported.