Aging study of silica optical fibers under acid environment

I. Severin; R. El Abdi; M. Poulain

doi:10.1117/12.623651

23 May 2005 Aging study of silica optical fibers under acid environment

I. Severin, R. El Abdi, M. Poulain

Proceedings Volume 5855, 17th International Conference on Optical Fibre Sensors; (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.623651
Event: 17th International Conference on Optical Fibre Sensors, 2005, Bruges, Belgium

Abstract

Optical fibers are key components in telecommunication technologies. Apart from optical specifications, optical fibers are expected to keep most of their physical properties for 10 to 20 years in current operating conditions. The reliability and the expected lifetime of optical links are closely related to the action of the chemical environment on the silica network. However, the coating also contributes largely to the mechanical properties of the fibers. The aim of this work was to study the strength and the mechanical behaviour of the silica optical fibers in an acid environment. A container with ammonium bifluoride acid salt was plunged into hot water at different temperatures (55° and 75°C). This emitted acid vapors which attacked the optical fibers for a period of 1 to 18 days. An aging study was performed on silica optical fibers with standard polyacrylate coating and with hermetic carbon coating. A dynamic two-point bending bench at different faceplate velocities (100, 200, 400 and 800 μm/s) was used. For comparison, the same dynamic measurements were also carried out on non-aged fibers. After acid vapor condensation, salt crystal deposits on the fibers were displayed using an electron scanning microscope. These crystals became visible to the naked eye from the 7th day post exposure.

Citation Download Citation

I. Severin, R. El Abdi, and M. Poulain "Aging study of silica optical fibers under acid environment", Proc. SPIE 5855, 17th International Conference on Optical Fibre Sensors, (23 May 2005); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.623651

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