JP6397109B2 - Optical fiber manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical fiber manufacturing method.

  In order to increase the optical transmission distance and increase the optical transmission speed in an optical fiber communication system, the optical signal-to-noise ratio must be increased. Therefore, there is a demand for reduction in transmission loss of optical fibers. At present, when optical fiber manufacturing methods are highly sophisticated, it is considered that transmission loss due to impurities contained in the optical fiber is almost reduced to the limit. The main cause of the remaining transmission loss is scattering loss due to fluctuations in the structure and composition of the glass constituting the optical fiber. This is inevitable because the optical fiber is made of glass.

  As a method for reducing the fluctuation of the glass structure, it is known to cool slowly when the molten glass is cooled. As a method for slowly cooling the glass thus melted, it has been attempted to slowly cool the optical fiber immediately after being drawn from a drawing furnace. Specifically, it has been studied to reduce the cooling rate of the optical fiber by heating the optical fiber drawn from the drawing furnace in a slow cooling furnace or surrounding the optical fiber immediately after drawing with a heat insulating material.

  In Patent Document 1 below, from the position where the outer diameter of the optical fiber having the core and the clad mainly composed of silica glass is smaller than 500% of the final outer diameter to the position where the temperature of the optical fiber is 1400 ° C. It is disclosed that the temperature of the heating furnace (slow cooling furnace) is set to be within ± 100 ° C. with respect to the target temperature obtained by the recurrence formula in the region of 70% or more. By controlling the temperature history of the optical fiber in this way, the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the optical fiber is lowered and transmission loss is reduced.

JP 2014-62021 A

  However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is required to repeat complicated calculations in order to adjust the temperature of the optical fiber to an ideal temperature change obtained by a recurrence formula. In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the temperature of the optical fiber is allowed to deviate by ± 50 ° C. to 100 ° C. with respect to the target temperature obtained by the recurrence formula. If the temperature deviation of the optical fiber is allowed in such a wide range, it is difficult to say that the temperature history is sufficiently optimized. For example, if the temperature of the slowly cooled optical fiber changes within a range of ± 100 ° C and the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the optical fiber also changes within the same range, the transmission loss due to light scattering of the resulting optical fiber is It also moves up and down about ± 0.007 dB / km. In the conventional manufacturing method in which the temperature history of such an optical fiber is not sufficiently optimized, an excessive capital investment to make the slow cooling furnace longer than necessary is performed, or the drawing speed is lowered more than necessary to increase productivity. May be damaged.

  The present inventors set the temperature of the slow cooling furnace appropriately, and the temperature difference between the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the optical fiber and the temperature of the optical fiber is appropriately controlled, whereby the structure of the glass constituting the optical fiber. It has been found that relaxation is promoted and transmission loss of the optical fiber is easily reduced.

  Therefore, the present invention is intended to provide an optical fiber manufacturing method that can easily reduce the transmission loss of the optical fiber.

In order to solve the above-described problems, an optical fiber manufacturing method according to the present invention includes a drawing step of drawing an optical fiber preform in a drawing furnace, and a slow cooling of gradually cooling the optical fiber drawn in the drawing step. And in the slow cooling step, the optical fiber is passed through a plurality of slow cooling furnaces, the time constant of structural relaxation of the glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber is τ (T), and the slow cooling step The temperature of the optical fiber at a certain point in time is T, the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the core at the certain point in time is T _f ⁰ , and the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the core after a lapse of time Δt from the certain point in time Is set to T _f , the following formula (1) is established in an arbitrary period of the slow cooling step.
20 ° C. <T _f −T = (T _f ⁰ −T) exp (−Δt / τ (T)) <100 ° C. (1)

  The present inventors gradually cool the optical fiber while the temperature difference between the temperature of the optical fiber and the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber is controlled within the predetermined range. It was found that the structural relaxation of the glass constituting the glass is promoted. By promoting the structural relaxation of the glass constituting the core, the scattering loss due to fluctuations in the structure of the glass constituting the core is reduced when light is transmitted to the core, so that the transmission loss of the optical fiber is reduced. Reduced. In addition, a plurality of slow cooling furnaces are used in the slow cooling process as described above, and the set temperature of each slow cooling furnace is appropriately controlled, so that the temperature of the optical fiber and the virtual temperature of the glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber are The temperature difference is easily controlled within the predetermined range. As a result, the structural relaxation of the glass constituting the core is promoted, and the transmission loss of the optical fiber is easily reduced.

In the optical fiber manufacturing method of the present invention, it is preferable that the following formula (2) is satisfied in an arbitrary period of the slow cooling step.
40 ° C. <T _f −T = (T _f ⁰ −T) exp (−Δt / τ (T)) <60 ° C. (2)
As described above, the temperature difference (T _f −T) between the temperature T of the optical fiber and the fictive temperature T _{f of the} glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber is controlled in a more suitable range in the slow cooling process. The structural relaxation of the glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber is more easily promoted, and the transmission loss of the optical fiber is more easily reduced.

Further, in the method of manufacturing an optical fiber according to the present invention, the set temperature of the nth slow cooling furnace from the upstream side is T _sn , and the glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber at the outlet of the nth slow cooling furnace from the upstream side when the virtual temperature T _en, it is preferable that the relationship of the following equation (3) holds.
_{20 ℃ <T en -T sn <} 100 ℃ ··· (3)
As described above, a plurality of slow cooling furnaces are used in the slow cooling step, and the set temperature of each slow cooling furnace is controlled within a predetermined range with respect to the virtual temperature of the glass that constitutes the core at the outlet of each slow cooling furnace. The temperature difference between the temperature and the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber is easily controlled within a predetermined range. As a result, the structural relaxation of the glass constituting the core is promoted, and the transmission loss of the optical fiber is easily reduced.

Moreover, it is preferable that the following formula (4) is satisfied in the manufacturing method of the optical fiber of the present invention.
_{40 ℃ <T en -T sn <} 60 ℃ ··· (4)
As described above, by controlling the set temperatures of the plurality of slow cooling furnaces to a more appropriate range, the effect of promoting the structural relaxation of the glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber is more easily increased, and the transmission loss of the optical fiber is increased. Is more likely to be reduced.

Further, in the method for producing an optical fiber of the present invention, the temperature difference between the set temperature and the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the core at the outlet is higher in the slow cooling furnace provided in the downstream side than the slow cooling furnace provided in the upstream side. Is preferably small.
The present inventors have found that when the temperature of the glass is lowered, the structural relaxation of the glass is more easily promoted when the temperature difference between the fictive temperature of the glass and the temperature of the glass is reduced. Therefore, by setting the temperature of the slow cooling furnace so that the temperature difference between the set temperature and the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the core at the outlet is smaller than the slow cooling furnace provided on the downstream side than the slow cooling furnace provided on the upstream side, The structural relaxation of the glass constituting the core can be promoted efficiently. As a result, the transmission loss of the optical fiber is easily reduced.

  Further, it is preferable that the optical fiber stays in one of the plurality of slow cooling furnaces at least once when the temperature of the optical fiber is in a range of 1300 ° C. or higher and 1500 ° C. or lower. By gradually cooling the optical fiber when the temperature of the optical fiber is within this range, the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber is easily lowered in a short time, and the transmission loss of the optical fiber is reduced. It becomes easy to be done.

  As described above, according to the present invention, an optical fiber manufacturing method that can easily reduce transmission loss of an optical fiber is provided.

It is a flowchart which shows the process of the manufacturing method of the optical fiber of this invention. It is a figure which shows roughly the structure of the apparatus used for the manufacturing method of the optical fiber of this invention. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the temperature of glass, the fictive temperature of the said glass, and slow cooling time. It shows the temperature difference between the fictive temperature and the glass temperature of the glass and ^_(T f 0 -T), and the rate of decrease per unit time of the fictive temperature of the glass ^{_{((T f -T f 0)}} / Δt), the relationship It is a graph. It is a graph which shows the time change of the temperature difference of the fictive temperature of glass, and the temperature of glass. Optimized temperature difference shown by the solid line in FIG. 5 and _(T f -T), and upper and lower limits of the temporal change of the temperature difference transmission loss does not increase in loss 0.001 dB / miles or more due to scattering _(T f -T) It is a graph which shows. It is a graph which shows the set temperature of each slow cooling furnace, the virtual temperature of the glass optimized in the exit of each slow cooling furnace, and the virtual temperature in the exit of each slow cooling furnace of the glass which passes virtual temperature history.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an optical fiber manufacturing method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the steps of the optical fiber manufacturing method of the present invention according to one embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the optical fiber manufacturing method of the present embodiment includes a drawing process P1, a pre-cooling process P2, a slow cooling process P3, and a rapid cooling process P4. Hereinafter, each of these steps will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of an apparatus used in the optical fiber manufacturing method of the present embodiment.

<Drawing process P1>
The drawing process P1 is a process of drawing one end of the optical fiber preform 1P in the drawing furnace 110. First, an optical fiber preform 1P made of glass having the same refractive index distribution as the core and clad constituting the desired optical fiber 1 is prepared. The optical fiber 1 has one or a plurality of cores and a clad that surrounds the outer peripheral surface of the core without a gap. The core and the cladding are each made of silica glass, and the refractive index of the core is higher than the refractive index of the cladding. For example, when the core is made of silica glass to which a dopant such as germanium having a high refractive index is added, the cladding is made of pure silica glass. For example, when the core is made of pure silica glass, the cladding is made of silica glass to which a dopant such as fluorine that lowers the refractive index is added.

  Next, the optical fiber preform 1P is suspended so that the longitudinal direction is vertical. Then, the optical fiber preform 1P is placed in the drawing furnace 110, and the heating unit 111 is heated to heat the lower end portion of the optical fiber preform 1P. At this time, the lower end portion of the optical fiber preform 1P is heated to, for example, 2000 ° C. to be in a molten state. Then, the glass melted from the lower end portion of the heated optical fiber preform 1P is drawn from the drawing furnace 110 at a predetermined drawing speed.

<Pre-cooling process P2>
The pre-cooling process P2 is a process of cooling the optical fiber drawn from the drawing furnace 110 in the drawing process P1 so as to have a predetermined temperature suitable for being sent to the slow cooling furnace 121 described later. The predetermined temperature of the optical fiber suitable for being sent to the slow cooling furnace 121 will be described in detail later.

  In the optical fiber manufacturing method of the present embodiment, the pre-cooling step P2 is performed by passing the optical fiber drawn in the drawing step P1 through the hollow portion of the cylindrical body 120 provided immediately below the drawing furnace 110. Is called. By providing the cylindrical body 120 directly under the drawing furnace 110, the atmosphere in the hollow portion of the cylindrical body 120 becomes substantially the same as the atmosphere in the drawing furnace 110. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an abrupt change in the atmosphere and temperature around the optical fiber immediately after being drawn.

  The temperature of the optical fiber sent to the slow cooling furnace 121 is mainly determined by the drawing speed and the atmosphere in the drawing furnace 110. By providing the pre-cooling step P2, the cooling rate of the optical fiber can be further finely adjusted, and the temperature of the optical fiber entering the slow cooling furnace 121 can be easily adjusted to an appropriate range. Based on the temperature of the optical fiber drawn from the drawing furnace 110 and the temperature of the optical fiber suitable for being sent to the slow cooling furnace 121, the distance between the slow cooling furnace 121 and the drawing furnace 110 and the length of the cylindrical body 120 are appropriately set. You can choose. The cylindrical body 120 is comprised by the metal pipe etc., for example. The cooling rate of the optical fiber may be adjusted by air-cooling the metal tube or arranging a heat insulating material around the metal tube.

<Slow cooling step P3>
The slow cooling step P3 is a step of gradually cooling the optical fiber drawn in the drawing step P1. In the optical fiber manufacturing method of the present embodiment, the temperature of the optical fiber is adjusted through the pre-cooling step P2, and is gradually cooled in the slow cooling step P3. In the slow cooling process P3, the optical fiber is passed through a plurality of slow cooling furnaces 121a, 121b, 121c, and 121d. In the description of the optical fiber manufacturing method of the present embodiment, when all of the slow cooling furnaces are included, or when it is not necessary to distinguish each of the slow cooling furnaces, there are cases where they are simply referred to as “slow cooling furnace 121”. FIG. 2 shows four slow cooling furnaces 121a, 121b, 121c, and 121d. However, in the present invention, the number of slow cooling furnaces is not particularly limited as long as the number is slow. The fact that there are a plurality of slow cooling furnaces means that there are a plurality of heat generating parts that can be set to different temperatures. For example, even if housed in one housing, it can be said that there are a plurality of slow cooling furnaces provided that a plurality of heat generating parts that can be set to different temperatures are provided.

  The inside of the slow cooling furnace 121 is set to a predetermined temperature different from the temperature of the optical fiber entering, and the cooling rate of the optical fiber is lowered by the temperature around the optical fiber entering the slow cooling furnace 121. By reducing the cooling rate of the optical fiber in the slow cooling furnace 121, as will be described below, the structure of the glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber is relaxed, and the optical fiber 1 with reduced scattering loss is obtained.

  In the conventional optical fiber manufacturing method having a slow cooling process, the temperature of the optical fiber at the time of entering the slow cooling furnace is not sufficiently optimized. Specifically, the optical fiber may be inserted into a slow cooling furnace in a state where the temperature of the optical fiber is too high or too low. If the temperature of the optical fiber entering the slow cooling furnace is too high, the rate of relaxation of the glass structure constituting the optical fiber is very fast, so that it is almost impossible to expect the effect of slowly cooling the optical fiber. On the other hand, if the temperature of the optical fiber entering the slow cooling furnace is too low, the rate of relaxation of the glass structure that constitutes the optical fiber becomes slow, so that it may be necessary to reheat the optical fiber in the slow cooling furnace. Thus, in the conventional slow cooling process, it is difficult to say that the structural relaxation of the glass constituting the optical fiber is efficiently performed. For this reason, there is a risk that excessive capital investment for making the slow cooling furnace longer than necessary may be performed, or that the drawing speed may be made slower than necessary to impair productivity.

  According to the optical fiber manufacturing method of the present embodiment, as described below, in the slow cooling step P3, the temperature of the slow cooling furnace 121 is appropriately set, and the virtual temperature and light of the glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber. By appropriately controlling the temperature difference from the fiber temperature, structural relaxation of the glass constituting the core is promoted. As a result, it is possible to obtain the optical fiber 1 that does not require excessive capital investment, has high productivity, and has reduced transmission loss. Moreover, according to the manufacturing method of the optical fiber of this embodiment, complicated calculation like the technique disclosed by the cited reference 1 mentioned above is not required at the time of manufacture.

In silica glass classified as so-called strong glass, the structural relaxation time constant τ (T), which is considered to be due to the viscous flow of the glass, follows the Arrhenius equation. Therefore, the time constant τ (T) is expressed as the following equation (5) as a function of the glass temperature T by using the constant A determined by the glass composition and the activation energy E _act . Note that k _B is a Boltzmann constant.
1 / τ (T) = A · exp (−E _act / k _B T) (5)
(Here, T is the absolute temperature of the glass.)

  From the above formula (5), it can be seen that the higher the glass temperature, the faster the glass structure relaxes and the faster the equilibrium state at that temperature is reached. That is, the higher the glass temperature, the faster the fictive temperature of the glass approaches the glass temperature.

  FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the glass temperature when the glass is slowly cooled and the fictive temperature of the glass and time. In the graph shown in FIG. 3, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents temperature. In FIG. 3, the solid line shows the temperature transition of the glass under a certain slow cooling condition, and the broken line shows the transition of the fictive temperature of the glass at that time. Further, the dotted line shows the temperature transition of the glass when the cooling rate is made slower than the slow cooling condition shown by the solid line, and the alternate long and short dash line shows the transition of the virtual temperature of the glass at that time.

  As shown by a solid line and a broken line in FIG. 3, when the glass temperature decreases with time in a high temperature region, the fictive temperature of the glass also decreases. Thus, when the temperature of the glass is sufficiently high, the rate of structural relaxation of the glass is very high. However, the rate of structural relaxation of the glass decreases as the glass temperature decreases. Eventually, the decrease in the fictive temperature of the glass becomes impossible to follow the decrease in the temperature of the glass. And the temperature difference of the temperature of glass and the virtual temperature of glass becomes large. Here, when the cooling rate of the glass is moderated, the glass is kept in a relatively high temperature state for a long time as compared with the case where the cooling rate is high. Therefore, as shown by the dotted line and the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 3, the temperature difference between the glass temperature and the fictive temperature of the glass becomes small, and the fictive temperature of the glass becomes lower than the example described above. That is, when the glass cooling rate is made moderate, the structural relaxation of the glass is easily promoted.

  As described above, when the glass temperature is high, the glass structure relaxes quickly. However, since the fictive temperature of the glass never becomes lower than the glass temperature, the fictive temperature of the glass remains high when the glass temperature is high. That is, if the temperature of the glass is too high, there are few effects due to slow cooling. From such a viewpoint, the temperature of the optical fiber staying in the slow cooling furnace 121 is preferably 1600 ° C. or less, and more preferably 1500 ° C. or less. On the other hand, when the temperature of the glass is low, the fictive temperature decreases to a lower temperature, but the rate of decrease of the fictive temperature is slow. That is, if the glass temperature is too low, it takes time for slow cooling to sufficiently lower the fictive temperature. From this point of view, the temperature of the optical fiber staying in the slow cooling furnace 121 is preferably 1300 ° C. or higher, and more preferably 1400 ° C. or higher. Therefore, it is preferable that the optical fiber stays in the slow cooling furnace 121 at least at a time when the temperature of the optical fiber is in the range of 1300 ° C. or higher and 1500 ° C. or lower. As described above, when the temperature of the optical fiber is in the predetermined range in the slow cooling step P3, the virtual temperature of the glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber is lowered in a short time by gradually cooling the optical fiber. The transmission loss of the optical fiber is easily reduced.

  Next, based on the relationship between the glass temperature and the fictive temperature of the glass, how can the optical fiber be gradually cooled to effectively promote the structural relaxation of the glass constituting the core and reduce the transmission loss of the optical fiber? explain.

The structural relaxation time constant of the glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber is τ (T), the temperature of the optical fiber at a certain point in the slow cooling process P3 is T, and the virtual of the glass constituting the core at the certain point in time. When the temperature is T _f ⁰ , the fictive temperature T _f of the glass constituting the core after the lapse of time Δt from the certain time point is expressed as the following formula (6) from the above formula (5). Note that Δt is a minute time, and T during that time is assumed to be constant.
T _f −T = (T _f ⁰ −T) exp (−Δt / τ (T)) (6)

According to the equation (6), the virtual temperature T _f of the glass constituting the core is not only dependent on the constant tau (T) when the structural relaxation, the fictive temperature T _f and the optical fiber of the glass constituting the core The temperature difference (T _f −T) from the temperature T depends on the temperature difference (T _f ⁰ −T) between the fictive temperature T _f ⁰ of the glass constituting the core and the temperature T of the optical fiber at a certain point in time. Recognize. The structural relaxation time constant τ (T) is a temperature difference (T _f −T) between the glass fictive temperature T _f and the glass temperature T when the fictive temperature is T _f ⁰ and the glass temperature is T. Is defined as the time until 1 / e, and as the temperature difference (T _f ⁰ −T) increases to some extent, the change in the virtual temperature T _f per unit time increases.

The temperature difference (T _f ⁰ −T) when the temperature of the optical fiber including the core made of glass whose virtual temperature is T _f ⁰ is T, and the change per unit time of the virtual temperature T _f ((T FIG. 4 schematically shows the relationship between _f− T _f ⁰ ) / Δt). As shown in FIG. 4, under the condition (T _f ⁰ = T) where the fictive temperature T _f ⁰ of the glass constituting the core and the temperature T of the optical fiber coincide with each other, structural relaxation of the glass constituting the core does not occur. The change in the fictive temperature per unit time is 0 ((T _f −T _f ⁰ ) / Δt = 0). From here, the temperature T of the optical fiber is lowered, and considering the condition that the temperature difference (T _f ⁰ −T) between the fictive temperature T _f ⁰ of the glass constituting the core and the temperature T of the optical fiber becomes large, the core is configured. Although the time constant τ (T) for the structural relaxation of the glass increases, the rate of change ((T _f −T _f ⁰ ) / Δt) of the fictive temperature T _f per unit time increases negatively. However, considering the condition that the temperature difference (T _f ⁰ −T) between the fictive temperature T _f ⁰ of the glass constituting the core and the temperature T of the optical fiber is further increased by further reducing the temperature T of the optical fiber, this time Gradually increases the structural relaxation time constant τ (T) of the glass constituting the core and decreases the absolute value of the change in the fictive temperature T _f per unit time ((T _f −T _f ⁰ ) / Δt). That is, as indicated by the peak shown in the graph of FIG. 4, the temperature difference (T _f ⁰ −T) between the virtual temperature T _f ⁰ of the glass constituting the core and the temperature T of the optical fiber is a certain value. It can be seen that the change in temperature per unit time ((T _f −T _f ⁰ ) / Δt) takes a minimum value.

When the above equation (6) is solved, the relationship of the following equation (7) may be established between the glass temperature T and the fictive temperature _Tf when the rate of decrease of the fictive temperature _Tf of the glass is maximized. Recognize.
^{_{T 2 + (E act / k}} B) × T- (E act / k B) × T f = 0 ··· (7)

Furthermore, when the above equation (7) is solved for T as in the following equation (8), the glass temperature T when the fictive temperature _Tf of the glass can be reduced most efficiently can be obtained. Hereinafter, the glass temperature at which the fictive temperature _Tf of the glass can be reduced most efficiently may be referred to as “optimized glass temperature”, and the fictive temperature that has been reduced most efficiently is “optimized”. Sometimes called “virtual temperature”.

As described above, when the temperature difference (T _f ⁰ −T) between the virtual temperature T _f ⁰ of the glass and the glass temperature T at a certain time is a predetermined value, the unit time of the virtual temperature T _f of the glass The hit change is the largest. That is, when considering the virtual temperature T _f after a certain time Δt elapses in the glass at the virtual temperature T _f ⁰ , there exists a glass temperature T at which the virtual temperature T _f can be minimized.

For a general-purpose single mode optical fiber doped with G _e O ₂ in the core, the value when the fictive temperature T _{f of the} glass constituting the core determined from the above formula (6) becomes the minimum value, and the light at that time FIG. 5 shows the change over time in the temperature difference (T _f −T) from the fiber temperature T. FIG. In the graph of FIG. 5, the vertical axis represents the temperature difference (T _f −T) between the value when the fictive temperature T _{f of the} glass constituting the core becomes the minimum value and the temperature T of the optical fiber at that time, and the horizontal axis. Is the slow cooling time of the optical fiber. The graph indicated by the solid line is the constant A and activation described in Non-Patent Document 1 (K. Saito, et al., Journal of the American Ceramic Society, Vol. 89, pp. 65-69 (2006)). It is the result using energy E _act , and the graph shown with a broken line is described in nonpatent literature 2 (K. Saito, et al., Applied Physics Letters, Vol.83, pp.5175-5177 (2003)). This is a result of using a constant A and activation energy E _{act and} setting Δt to 0.0005 seconds.

Here, it is assumed that the slow cooling step P3 is performed immediately after the optical fiber preform 1P is heated and melted in the drawing step P1. Assuming that the temperature T ⁰ of the optical fiber in the initial slow cooling (when the slow cooling time is 0 second) is 1800 ° C., the structural relaxation time of the glass constituting the core at this temperature is very less than 0.001 second. short. Therefore, it can be considered that the fictive temperature T _f ⁰ of the glass constituting the core at the initial stage of slow cooling is also 1800 ° C. That is, an initial value of T _f ⁰ −T ⁰ = 0 ° C. is assumed.

Looking at the change over time of the temperature difference (T _f −T) between the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the core and the temperature of the optical fiber, which is obtained by the above assumption, in the time domain up to approximately 0.01 seconds, the temperature It can be seen that the difference (T _f −T) should be gradually increased, and the temperature difference (T _f −T) should be gradually decreased in the time region after approximately 0.01 seconds. Further, the temperature difference (T _f −T) is preferably less than 60 ° C. in all time regions, and the temperature difference (T _f −T) is generally higher than 40 ° C. and less than 60 ° C. in most time regions. It can be seen that the fictive temperature _{Tf of the} glass constituting the core is efficiently lowered by controlling the temperature T of the optical fiber so as to maintain the temperature. Further, the time when the temperature difference (T _f −T) shown in FIG. 5 becomes maximum is the constant A and the activation energy E _act in the above formula (5) and the initial stage of slow cooling (when the slow cooling time is 0 second). Although it slightly depends on the temperature T ^{0 of the} optical fiber and the fictive temperature T _f ⁰ of the glass constituting the core, it is approximately 0.01 seconds.

As can be seen from the above assumption, after the precooling step P2 is provided subsequent to the drawing step P1 so that a temperature difference (T _f −T) between the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the core and the temperature of the optical fiber is generated to some extent. If the slow cooling process P3 is performed, the structural relaxation of the glass constituting the core can be efficiently performed by effectively using the length of the slow cooling furnace 121. For example, in FIG. 5, until the time when the temperature difference (T _f −T) between the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the core and the temperature of the optical fiber is approximately higher than 40 ° C. and lower than 60 ° C. It is preferable to perform the precooling step P2 and then start the slow cooling step P3 because the length of the slow cooling furnace 121 can be used effectively.

Moreover, the following can be understood from the results shown in FIG. That is, even if there are some differences in the values of the constant A and the activation energy E _act determined based on the composition, in the slow cooling step P3, the temperature difference (T _f − It can be seen that the fictive temperature of the glass can be efficiently reduced when T) is in the range of higher than 40 ° C and lower than 60 ° C. Therefore, in the case of a general optical fiber having a so-called dopant concentration and silica glass as a main component, the temperature difference (T _f −T) between the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the optical fiber and the temperature of the optical fiber is 40. By gradually cooling the optical fiber under the condition of higher than 60 ° C. and lower than 60 ° C., the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the optical fiber can be efficiently lowered. For example, the fictive temperature can be lowered efficiently in any of a core made of silica glass doped with a dopant such as G _e O ₂ and a clad made of substantially pure silica glass.

Further, the temperature difference (T _f −T) between the temperature T of the optical fiber and the fictive temperature T _{f of the} glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber in an arbitrary period from the start to the end of the slow cooling step P3. ) Within the predetermined range, the structural relaxation of the glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber is easily promoted, and the transmission loss of the optical fiber is easily reduced. That is, τ (T) is the time constant for structural relaxation of the glass constituting the core, T is the temperature of the optical fiber at a certain point in the slow cooling step P3, and T is the virtual temperature of the glass constituting the core at the certain point. _f ⁰ , where T _f is the fictive temperature of the glass that constitutes the core after the passage of time Δt from a certain point in time, it is preferable that the following expression (2) holds.
40 ° C. <T _f −T = (T _f ⁰ −T) exp (−Δt / τ (T)) <60 ° C. (2)
As described above, the temperature difference (T _f −T) between the temperature T of the optical fiber and the fictive temperature T _{f of the} glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber is controlled within a predetermined range in the slow cooling step P3. The structural relaxation of the glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber is more easily promoted. Therefore, the transmission loss of the optical fiber is easily reduced.

At this time, according to the optical fiber manufacturing method of the present embodiment, a plurality of slow cooling furnaces 121 are used in the slow cooling process P3, and the set temperature of each slow cooling furnace 121 is appropriately controlled, so that the temperature of the optical fiber and the light The temperature difference (T _f −T) from the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the core included in the fiber is easily controlled within the predetermined range. As a result, the structural relaxation of the glass constituting the core is promoted, and the transmission loss of the optical fiber is easily reduced.

The temperature difference (T _f) between the temperature T of the optical fiber and the virtual temperature T _{f of the} glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber in order to reduce the virtual temperature T _f of the glass constituting the core most efficiently. The condition of -T) is as described above, but the transmission loss of the optical fiber can be sufficiently reduced even under the conditions described below.

The fictive temperature T _{f of the} glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber and the transmission loss of the optical fiber are linked by the following relational expression. The Rayleigh scattering coefficient R _r is proportional to the fictive temperature T _f of the glass constituting the core, and the transmission loss α _T due to Rayleigh scattering is represented by the following formula (9), where the wavelength of the transmitted light is λ [μm].
α _T = R _r / λ ⁴ = BT _f / λ ⁴ (9)

Here, according to Non-Patent Document 2 (K. Saito, et al., Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 83, pp. 5175-5177 (2003)), B = 4.0 × 10 ⁻⁴ dB / km / μm. ⁴ / K. Considering the transmission loss at the wavelength λ = 1.55 μm, when the fictive temperature T _{f of the} glass constituting the core rises by 14 ° C., the transmission loss α _T due to Rayleigh scattering increases by about 0.001 dB / km. That is, _if the error from the fictive temperature T _{f of the} glass constituting the core when it is most efficiently lowered can be suppressed to less than 14 ° C., the increase in transmission loss α _T due to Rayleigh scattering is less than 0.001 dB / km. Can be suppressed.

As described above, most efficiently when considering the error acceptable from the virtual temperature T _f of the glass constituting the core when it is lowered, as described below, the fictive temperature T _f of the glass constituting the core And the temperature difference between the temperature of the optical fiber and the temperature of the optical fiber (T _f −T) may be entered into the slow cooling furnace 121 under a temperature condition that is higher than 20 ° C. and lower than 100 ° C.

When the temperature difference (T _f −T) indicated by the solid line in FIG. 5 is slowed for 0.5 seconds, the increase in scattering loss expected from the fictive temperature T _{f of the} glass constituting the core is less than 0.001 dB / km. The temperature difference when suppressed to can be predicted from the recurrence formula (6). The fictive temperature T _f ⁰ of the glass constituting the core of the optical fiber in the initial slow cooling (when the slow cooling time is 0 second) is 1800 ° C., and the temperature difference (T _f −T) is substantially constant during the slow cooling step P3. When the recurrence formula (6) is solved under the assumption that the above is true, the graph shown in FIG. 6 is obtained. In FIG. 6, the temperature difference (T _f −T) indicated by the solid line in FIG. Further, in FIG. 6, the upper limit of the change over time of the temperature difference (T _f −T) at which the transmission loss due to scattering does not increase by 0.001 dB / km or more is indicated by a broken line, and the lower limit is indicated by a one-dot chain line. Here, the constant A and the activation energy E _act are shown in Non-Patent Document 1 (K. Saito, et al., Journal of the American Ceramic Society, Vol. 89, pp. 65-69 (2006)). Use the value. From the results shown in FIG. During the slow cooling step P3, the slow cooling furnace 121 is used to control the temperature history of the optical fiber so that the temperature difference (T _f −T) is in the range of higher than 20 ° C. and lower than 100 ° C. in the time region after approximately 0.01 seconds. if the temperature is set to, for the virtual temperature T _f of the glass constituting the core when most efficiently is lowered, the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the core is suppressed to a range that does not rise above about 14 ° C.. As a result, the transmission loss can be suppressed to an increase of 0.001 dB / km or less with respect to the value under the optimized condition that can be reduced most.

Therefore, the temperature difference (T _f − between the temperature T of the optical fiber and the fictive temperature T _{f of the} glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber in an arbitrary period from the start to the end of the slow cooling step P3. When T) is maintained in a range higher than 20 ° C. and lower than 100 ° C., structural relaxation of the glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber is easily promoted, and transmission loss of the optical fiber is easily reduced. That is, the following formula (1) is preferably satisfied.
20 ° C. <T _f −T = (T _f ⁰ −T) exp (−Δt / τ (T)) <100 ° C. (1)

Next, a specific example for easily satisfying the conditions of the above formulas (2) and (1) will be described. In the optical fiber manufacturing method of the present embodiment, four slow cooling furnaces 121a, 121b, 121c, and 121d are used in the slow cooling step P3. By using a plurality of slow cooling furnaces 121 in this way, it becomes easy to control the temperature difference between the temperature of the optical fiber and the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the core within a predetermined range. That is, in the slow cooling process P3, the optical fiber is passed through the plurality of slow cooling furnaces 121, the set temperature of the nth slow cooling furnace 121 from the upstream side is T _sn , and the slow cooling time until it reaches the outlet of the nth slow cooling furnace 121 from the upstream side when the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the core and the T _en in, so that satisfied the relationship of the following formula (3).
_{20 ℃ <T en -T sn <} 100 ℃ ··· (3)

  As described above, the optical fiber is gradually cooled while the temperature difference between the temperature of the optical fiber and the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber is controlled within a predetermined range, thereby configuring the core. The relaxation of the glass structure is promoted. By promoting the structural relaxation of the glass constituting the core, the scattering loss due to fluctuations in the structure of the glass constituting the core is reduced when light is transmitted to the core, so that the transmission loss of the optical fiber is reduced. Reduced. As described above, a plurality of slow cooling furnaces 121 are used in the slow cooling step P3, and predetermined with respect to the virtual temperature of the glass constituting the core in the slow cooling time until the set temperature of each slow cooling furnace 121 reaches the outlet of each slow cooling furnace 121 By controlling in this range, the temperature difference between the temperature of the optical fiber and the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber can be easily controlled within a predetermined range. As a result, the structural relaxation of the glass constituting the core is promoted, and the transmission loss of the optical fiber is reduced. This will be specifically described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 7 shows changes in the optimized fictive temperature (solid line) of the glass constituting the core, calculated from Equation (5) when the temperature and fictive temperature of the glass constituting the core are 1800 ° C. as initial values. Shown are the set temperature (one-dot chain line) of the slow cooling furnaces 121a, 121b, 121c, 121d and the expected virtual temperature of the glass constituting the core in the slow cooling time until reaching the outlet of the slow cooling furnaces 121a, 121b, 121c, 121d Yes. In the example shown in FIG. 7, it is assumed that each slow cooling furnace 121 has a length of 0.5 m and a drawing speed of 20 m / sec. As indicated by triangles (▲) in FIG. 7, when the optical fiber exits each slow cooling furnace 121, that is, when the slow cooling time is 0.025 seconds, 0.050 seconds, 0.075 seconds, 0.100 seconds. The optimized fictive temperatures T _f of the glass constituting the core are calculated as 1556 ° C., 1515 ° C., 1492 ° C. and 1476 ° C., respectively. And the set temperature of the slow cooling furnace 121a, 121b, 121c, 121d is set as shown by a one-dot chain line in FIG. That is, the temperature of each slow cooling furnace 121 is set to a temperature that is 50 ° C. lower than the optimized fictive temperature _{Tf of} the glass constituting the core in the slow cooling time when it reaches the outlet of each slow cooling furnace 121. As a result, the temperature of the optical fiber approaches the set temperature of each slow cooling furnace 121 near the outlet of each slow cooling furnace 121, so that the conditions of the above formulas (2) and (1) are easily satisfied near the outlet of each slow cooling furnace 121. And the glass which went through the virtual temperature history which temporarily remove | deviates the conditions of Formula (1) accompanied with the rapid change that the temperature of the glass which rushed into each slow cooling furnace 121 corresponds with the preset temperature of each slow cooling furnace 121 immediately. FIG. 7 is expected to have a virtual temperature indicated by a circle (●). Since the actual glass temperature decreases more slowly and approaches the set temperature of the slow cooling furnace, the actual virtual temperature is slightly higher than the ideal virtual temperature indicated by the triangle (▲) and is higher than the virtual temperature indicated by the circle (●). Slightly lower, but acceptable error. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the difference between the fictive temperature of the glass after the fictive temperature history after slow cooling for 0.100 seconds and the optimized fictive temperature is 12 ° C., and the scattering loss is 0.001 dB / It must be less than km.

From the viewpoint described above, from the viewpoint of easily satisfying the temperature difference between the temperature of the optical fiber and the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the core in a more appropriate range, that is, the above expression (2), It is preferable to hold.
_{40 ℃ <T en -T sn <} 60 ℃ ··· (4)
As described above, by controlling the set temperature of the slow cooling furnace 121 to a more appropriate range, the effect of promoting the structural relaxation of the glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber is easily increased, and the transmission loss of the optical fiber is reduced. It becomes easy.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, when the temperature of the glass is lowered, the structural relaxation of the glass is more easily promoted when the temperature difference between the fictive temperature of the glass and the temperature of the glass is reduced. Therefore, it is preferable that the slow cooling furnace 121 provided on the downstream side has a smaller difference between the set temperature and the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the core at the outlet than the slow cooling furnace 121 provided on the upstream side. For example, as indicated by the solid line in FIG. 5, the temperature of the glass at the slow cooling time of 0.025 seconds, 0.050 seconds, 0.075 seconds, and 0.100 seconds and the appropriateness of the glass constituting the core The differences from the converted fictive temperature are 59 ° C., 56 ° C., 55 ° C., and 54 ° C., respectively, and the temperature difference is preferably smaller as it goes downstream. Thus, the temperature of the slow cooling furnace is set so that the temperature difference between the set temperature and the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the core at the outlet is smaller in the slow cooling furnace provided in the downstream side than in the slow cooling furnace provided in the upstream side. Thus, the structural relaxation of the glass constituting the core can be promoted efficiently. As a result, the transmission loss of the optical fiber is easily reduced.

The relationship between the fictive temperature T _{f of the} glass constituting the core and the temperature T of the optical fiber when it is most efficiently lowered depends only on the slow cooling time t, the slow cooling time t, and the length L of the slow cooling furnace. And the drawing speed v can be linked by the relationship of the following formula (10).
t = L / v (10)

Accordingly, the required length L of the slow cooling furnace can be obtained by setting the target virtual temperature T _f of the glass constituting the core included in the manufactured optical fiber and determining the drawing speed v in consideration of productivity. . For example, since the slow cooling time t is required to be about 0.1 seconds in order to set the fictive temperature _Tf to 1500 ° C., when the drawing speed v is set to 20 m / second, the length L of the slow cooling furnace must be 2 m. I understand. Also, for example, since the slow cooling time t is required to be about 0.4 seconds in order to set the virtual temperature _Tf to 1400 ° C., when the drawing speed v is set to 10 m / second, the length L of the slow cooling furnace is 4 m. I know that there is. On the other hand, if the length L of the slow cooling furnace is only 2 m, it can be seen that the drawing speed v needs to be 5 m / sec. However, from the viewpoint of productivity and the like, the drawing speed v is preferably selected in the range of about 10 m / second to 50 m / second, the slow cooling furnace length L is preferably selected in the range of about 1 m to 10 m, and the slow cooling time t is 1 second or less. It is preferable to do.

<Rapid cooling process P4>
After the slow cooling step P3, the optical fiber is covered with a coating layer in order to enhance the damage resistance and the like. This coating layer is usually made of an ultraviolet curable resin. In order to form such a coating layer, the optical fiber needs to be cooled to a sufficiently low temperature in order to prevent burning of the coating layer. The temperature of the optical fiber affects the viscosity of the resin to be applied, and consequently the thickness of the coating layer. The appropriate temperature of the optical fiber when forming the coating layer is appropriately determined according to the properties of the resin constituting the coating layer.

  In the optical fiber manufacturing method of the present embodiment, the slow cooling furnace 121 is provided between the drawing furnace 110 and the coating apparatus 131, so that the section for sufficiently cooling the optical fiber is shortened. In particular, since the optical fiber manufacturing method of the present embodiment also includes the pre-cooling step P2, the section for sufficiently cooling the optical fiber is further shortened. Therefore, the optical fiber manufacturing method of the present embodiment includes a rapid cooling process P4 in which the optical fiber exiting the slow cooling furnace 121 is rapidly cooled by the cooling device 122. In the rapid cooling process P4, the optical fiber is cooled more rapidly than in the slow cooling process P3. By providing such a rapid cooling process P4, the temperature of the optical fiber can be sufficiently lowered in a short section, and thus it becomes easy to form a coating layer. The temperature of the optical fiber when leaving the cooling device 122 is, for example, 40 ° C to 50 ° C.

  The optical fiber cooled to a predetermined temperature through the cooling device 122 as described above passes through the coating device 131 containing the ultraviolet curable resin serving as a coating layer covering the optical fiber, and is coated with the ultraviolet curable resin. Is done. Further, when passing through the ultraviolet irradiation device 132 and being irradiated with ultraviolet rays, the ultraviolet curable resin is cured and a coating layer is formed, whereby the optical fiber 1 is obtained. The covering layer is usually composed of two layers. When two coating layers are formed, two coating layers can be formed by coating the optical fiber with the ultraviolet curable resin constituting each layer and then curing the ultraviolet curable resin at a time. Alternatively, the second coating layer may be formed after the first coating layer is formed. Then, the direction of the optical fiber 1 is changed by the turn pulley 141 and is taken up by the reel 142.

As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment was described as an example about this invention, this invention is not limited to this. That is, the optical fiber manufacturing method of the present invention only needs to include the drawing step and the slow cooling step described above, and the precooling step and the rapid cooling step are not essential components. Moreover, the manufacturing method of the optical fiber of this invention is applicable to manufacture of all kinds of optical fibers. For example, the optical fiber manufacturing method of the present invention includes not only an optical fiber mainly composed of silica glass but also a method for manufacturing an optical fiber mainly composed of other materials such as chalcogenide glass and fluorine-based glass. The present invention is applicable if the constant A and the activation energy E _act in Equation (5) are obtained.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the manufacturing method of the optical fiber which can manufacture the optical fiber with reduced transmission loss is provided, and can be utilized for the field | area of optical fiber communication. It can also be used for fiber laser devices and other devices using optical fibers.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical fiber 1P ... Base material 110 for optical fibers ... Drawing furnace 111 ... Heating part 120 ... Cylindrical body 121 ... Slow cooling furnace 122 ... Cooling device 131 ... Coating device 132 ... UV irradiation device 141 ... turn pulley 142 ... reel P1 ... drawing step P2 ... pre-cooling step P3 ... slow cooling step P4 ... quick cooling step

Claims (7)

A drawing process for drawing the optical fiber preform in a drawing furnace;
A slow cooling step of slowly cooling the optical fiber drawn in the drawing step;
With
In the slow cooling step, the optical fiber is passed through a plurality of slow cooling furnaces,
After calculating | requiring the temperature T of the said glass when the virtual temperature of the glass which comprises the core contained in the said optical fiber can be reduced most efficiently using following formula (8), the said temperature T is used. The temperature of the optical fiber when the increase amount is less than 0.001 db / km with respect to the transmission loss of the optical fiber when the fictive temperature of the glass is most efficiently lowered, and the fictive temperature of the glass Calculate the upper and lower limits of the temperature difference of
In the slow cooling step, the temperature of the slow cooling furnace is set so that the temperature difference falls within the range from the upper limit value to the lower limit value.

(In the formula (8), E _act is the activation energy of the glass, k _B is the Boltzmann constant, and T _f is the fictive temperature of the glass.) Τ (T) is the time constant for structural relaxation of the glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber, T is the temperature of the optical fiber at a certain point in the slow cooling step, and the core is at the certain point. When the fictive temperature of the glass is T _f ⁰ and the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the core after a lapse of time Δt from the certain time point is T _f , the following formula (1) is established in an arbitrary period of the slow cooling step. The method of manufacturing an optical fiber according to claim 1.
20 ° C. <T _f −T = (T _f ⁰ −T) exp (−Δt / τ (T)) <100 ° C. (1) The optical fiber manufacturing method according to claim 2, wherein the following formula (2) is satisfied in an arbitrary period of the slow cooling step.
40 ° C. <T _f −T = (T _f ⁰ −T) exp (−Δt / τ (T)) <60 ° C. (2) When the set temperature T _sn of the n-th of the annealing furnace from the upstream _side, the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the core included in the optical fiber from the upstream side of the outlet of the n-th of the annealing furnace and T _en, the following formula ( The method of manufacturing an optical fiber according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the relationship 3) is established.
_{20 ℃ <T en -T sn <} 100 ℃ ··· (3) The following formula (4) holds: The method for manufacturing an optical fiber according to claim 4.
_{40 ℃ <T en -T sn <} 60 ℃ ··· (4) The temperature difference between the set temperature and the fictive temperature of the glass constituting the core at the outlet is smaller in the slow cooling furnace provided on the downstream side than the slow cooling furnace provided on the upstream side. The manufacturing method of the optical fiber of any one of these. The optical fiber stays in one of the plurality of slow cooling furnaces at least at a time when the temperature of the optical fiber is in a range of 1300 ° C. or higher and 1500 ° C. or lower. The manufacturing method of the optical fiber as described in any one of.

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