Optical Fiber Communications, Volume 1: Fiber Fabrication focuses on the science, engineering, and application of information transmission through optical fibers. This book discusses the materials and processes for fiber fabrication, fiber theory, design, and measurement, as well as passive components, cabling, active devices, systems, and applications.
Organized into five chapters, this volume starts with an overview of the modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD), the outside vapor deposition (OVD), and the vapor-phase axial deposition (VAD) processes. This text then explores the important development with respect to the drawing of glass fibers, particularly those that serve as optical waveguides in telecommunications applications. Other chapters discuss the progress in fiber strength from short-length research fibers to large quantities that give confidence in the manufacturability of high-strength, long-length fibers. The final chapter discusses the advances in the technologies of optical-fiber manufacture.
This book is a valuable resource for process engineers, technicians, scientists, and optical fiber manufacturers.

ContributorsPreface1. Modified Chemical Vapor Deposition 1.1. Introduction 1.2. Process Description 1.3. Process Chemistry and Mechanisms 1.4. High-Rate and Plasma MCVD 1.5. Multimode Fiber Design, Fabrication, and Performance 1.6. Single-Mode Fiber Design, Fabrication, and Performance 1.7. Special Fibers 1.8. Summary References2. Outside Vapor Deposition 2.1. Introduction 2.1.1. Background on Vapor Deposition Processes 2.1.2. OVD Process Description 2.1.3. Evolution of OVD Technology 2.2. OVD Process Steps 2.2.1. Purification of Raw Materials 2.2.2. Transport of Reactants to Heat Source 2.2.3. Chemical Reactions and Particle Formation 2.2.4. Particle Collection 2.2.5. Drying and Sintering 2.2.6. Preform Design 2.3. OVD Fibers and Their Performance Characteristics 2.3.1. OVD Single-Mode Fibers 2.3.2. OVD Long-Distance, Graded-Index Multimode Fibers 2.3.3. OVD Short-Distance Fibers 2.4. New Developments References3. Vapor-Phase Axial Deposition Method 3.1. Introduction 3.1.1. Background of the Vapor-Phase Axial Deposition Method 3.1.2. Materials 3.2. VAD Apparatus and Preform Fabrication Process 3.2.1. Apparatus 3.2.2. Preform Fabrication Process 3.2.3. Continuous Deposition and Consolidation Process 3.3. Flame Hydrolysis of Halide Raw Materials 3.3.1. Fine Glass Particle Formation in the Flame 3.3.2. Deposition Properties of High-Silica Particles 3.3.3. Porous Preform Fabrication 3.4. The Consolidation Process 3.4.1. Porous Preform Densification 3.4.2. Analysis of the Critical Pore Diameter 3.5. The Dehydration Process 3.5.1. Hydroxyl-Ion Behavior in the Porous Preform 3.5.2. Dehydration Utilizing SOCl2 and Cl2 3.5.3. Hydroxyl-Ion Contamination during Elongation and Drawing 3.5.4. Complete Removal of Hydroxyl Ions from VAD Fibers 3.6. Refractive Index Profile Control 3.6.1. Precise Deposition Properties for the SiO2-GeO2 and SiO2-TiO2 Systems 3.6.2. Practical Techniques for Refractive Index Profile Control 3.7. Multimode VAD Fibers 3.7.1. Graded-Index Optical Fibers 3.7.2. High-NA Optical Fibers 3.8. Single-Mode VAD Fibers 3.8.1. Fabrication Process 3.8.2. Fabrication Conditions and Transmission Characteristics 3.8.3. High-NA, Single-Mode VAD Fibers 3.9. New Fields in VAD 3.9.1. High-Speed Deposition Technique 3.9.2. Alumina-Doped VAD Fibers 3.9.3. Polarization-Maintaining Optical Fibers References4. Fiber Drawing and Strength Properties 4.1. Introduction 4.2. Fiber Drawing: Fundamentals and Contemporary Techniques 4.2.1. Essential Components 4.2.2. Feed Glass 4.2.3. Heat Sources 4.2.4. Drawing Mechanisms 4.3 Coatings 4.3.1. Materials 4.3.2. Application 4.3.3. Dual Coating Structures 4.3.4. Concentricity 4.3.5. Speed 4.3.6. Hermetic Coatings 4.4 Strength 4.4.1. Long-Length Strength 4.4.2. Fatigue 4.4.3. Reduction of Fatigue 4.4.4. Proof-Testing 4.4.5. Splicing 4.4.6. Strengthening by Means of Surface Compressive Stress 4.4.7. Fractography 4.4.8. Multicomponent Silicate Glass Fibers 4.4.9. Nonoxide Glasses 4.5 High-Performance Applications References5. Manufacturing of Optical Fibers 5.1. Fiber Manufacturing at AT&T Technologies, Inc. 5.1.1. Introduction 5.1.2. The History of AT&T Technologies Fiber Manufacturing 5.1.3. Description of the Mass Production Facility 5.1.4. Fiber Designs 5.1.5. MCVD Preform 5.1.6. Fiber Drawing 5.1.7.