JPH11311726A - Coated optical fiber ribbon - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coated optical fibers capable of increasing the density of the optical fibers of an optical fiber cable and easily dealing with the high density of PLC, and having high fiber density. SOLUTION: This ribbon 10 is constituted by arraying in parallel optical fibers 11 each consisting of an optical fiber 13 formed by providing a clad layer on a core and a nopeeling thin layer 14 formed of synthetic resin having good adhesive strength to the clad layer of the optical fiber 13 and a 50 to 250 kg/mm<2> Young's modulus at room temperature to a thickness of 2 to 15 μm, and providing a batch coating 12 in two-layered structure at the outer periphery by stacking a primary coating 15 of synthetic resin having a 0.01 to 0.5 kg/mm<2> Young's modulus at room temperature and a secondary coating 16 of synthetic resin having a 10 to 200 kg/mm<2> Young's modulus at room temperature in order.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical fiber tape having an improved fiber density.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 4, an optical fiber tape has a Young's modulus at room temperature on an optical fiber 1 in order to suppress fluctuations in the transmission characteristics of the optical fiber due to lateral pressure and temperature changes. primary coating 2 but consisting of ^{0.1kgf / mm 2 ~0.5 kgf / mm} 2 approximately of the synthetic resin, the Young's modulus of 40 kgf / mm ² ~ 100 kg
A plurality (usually 4 to 12) of optical fiber wires 4 provided with a secondary coating 3 made of a synthetic resin of about f / mm ² are juxtaposed, and the Young's modulus is 50 kgf / mm ^{2 to} 100 on the outer periphery thereof. The structure is such that a collective coating 5 made of a synthetic resin of about kgf / mm ² is provided.

In such an optical fiber tape, each coating is provided with a thickness which is optimal for protecting and stabilizing the characteristics of the optical fiber 1, and for example, for a four-core single mode (SM). 125μ for optical fiber tape
180 to 200 μm on each SM optical fiber
m and 230 to 250 μm are provided with a primary coating 2 and a secondary coating 3, and the collective coating 5 is provided such that the tape width and thickness are 1.10 mm and 0.38 mm, respectively.

[0004]

However, with the development of optical communication in recent years, there has been a demand for an optical fiber cable containing optical fibers at a higher density. There is a demand to improve.

Recently, a planar lightwave circuit (Planar Light
As the density of wave circuits (PLCs) has been increased, an optical fiber tape having a high fiber density has been demanded from this point as well. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, using a conventional 8-fiber SM optical fiber tape core 6 having a wire diameter of 250 μm, the center-to-center distance of the optical fiber is 125 μm.
When forming a fiber array for high-density PLC of μm,
The bare fibers 1 having an outer diameter of 125 μm must be bent and arranged so as to cross each other, which is not only poor in workability, but also because the bare fibers 1 come into contact with each other during the work, or thereafter deteriorate with time due to bending stress. Then, the optical fiber 1 may be broken, and the reliability of the PLC may be impaired. Therefore, there is a demand for a high-density optical fiber tape capable of coping with such a high-density PLC.

However, in the conventional optical fiber tape, as described above, each coating is coated to an optimum thickness necessary and sufficient for stabilizing the characteristics of the optical fiber. It was difficult to increase the fiber density by reducing the thickness, and thus could not meet the above demand.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has been made in view of the above circumstances. It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical fiber tape having a high optical fiber tape.

[0008]

An optical fiber cable according to the present invention is provided.
Flop core wire, on the cladding layer of the optical fiber, the optical fiber having a Young's modulus is provided a non-peeling of the thin layer to the cladding layer made of synthetic resin 50kg / mm ² ~250kg / mm ² at room temperature Are arranged in parallel and the outer periphery thereof is collectively coated.

The thickness of the non-peelable thin layer is 2 to
It is desirable that the thickness be 15 μm.

[0010] In the optical fiber tape of the present invention, the Young's modulus is 5
Since the cladding layer made of a synthetic resin 0kg / mm ² ~250kg / mm ² to have to provide a non-peeling of the thin layer, the outer diameter of the optical fiber provided with a conventional primary coating and secondary coating The diameter can be significantly reduced as compared with the ones. For this reason,
The distance between optical fibers can be shortened, and the fiber density can be increased. In addition, the characteristics of the optical fiber are sufficiently protected by the non-peelable thin layer and the collective coating provided on the outer periphery of the optical fiber. Accordingly, it is possible to provide an optical fiber cable containing optical fibers at a high density by using this,
To improve its reliability.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of a first embodiment of an optical fiber tape according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, this optical fiber tape 10 is made up of a plurality of optical fiber wires 11 closely arranged in parallel with each other and a collective covering 1 applied to the periphery thereof in a tape shape.
And 2. Each optical fiber 11 has an optical fiber 13 having a cladding layer provided on a core, and a Young's modulus having good adhesion to the cladding layer of the optical fiber 13 provided on the optical fiber 13 at room temperature. 50kg / mm ² 〜
It consists of a non-peelable thin layer 14 made of a synthetic resin of 250 kg / mm ² , and has a Young's modulus of 0.01 k at room temperature.
g / mm ² -0.5 kg / mm ² Primary coating 15 of synthetic resin
When is Young's modulus at room temperature a two-layer structure of 10 kg / mm ² made of ~200kg / mm ² of synthetic resin secondary coating 16.

The non-peelable thin layer 14 is mainly used for forming a tape, connecting with a connector,
When coupling to a PLC or the like, the optical fiber alone is provided because the mechanical strength is poor and it is difficult to handle it as a work unit. From this viewpoint, the synthetic resin constituting the optical fiber is required to have a Young's modulus as high as possible. Are preferred. Therefore, in the present invention, the Young's modulus is
50kg / mm ² ~250kg / mm ² of synthetic resin is necessary to use, in particular, a Young's modulus at ordinary temperature 100kg / mm ² ~150kg / mm ²
The use of a synthetic resin is preferred.

The thickness of the non-peelable thin layer 14 is 2 μm
If the thickness is less than 2 μm, it is difficult to form a uniform thickness, and there is a portion having low mechanical strength. The optical fiber 13 may be damaged at the time of conversion, connection with a connector, or coupling with a PLC or the like. If it exceeds 15 μm, microbending may occur in the optical fiber due to a difference in expansion coefficient.

The primary coating 15 is made of the optical fiber 13 at a low temperature.
Suppresses the increase in the transmission loss of the function as a buffer layer against lateral pressure, those having an action to suppress the increase in transmission loss due to lateral pressure and temperature changes, the Young's modulus at room temperature is even lower than 0.01 kg / mm ² However, even if it exceeds 0.5 kg / mm ² , such an effect cannot be sufficiently obtained. The thickness of the primary coating 15 is not more than twice the outer diameter of the optical fiber 11 and the width is equal to the diameter of the optical fiber x the number of wires +
It is desirable to coat so as to form a tape of 30 to 100 μm.

The secondary coating 16 has a function of preventing the transmission loss from being increased due to the lateral pressure when used together with the primary coating 15 while enabling the handling as a tape core. Even if the Young's modulus is less than 10 kg / mm ² or exceeds 200 kg / mm ² , such effects cannot be sufficiently obtained. This is because Young's modulus of less than 10 kg / mm ² at room temperature, the protective effect against lateral pressure is insufficient, also, 200k
This is because, if it exceeds g / mm ² , the contraction force generated by the temperature change increases. The thickness of the secondary coating 16 is 20 μm.
A range from m to 100 μm is preferred.

The following are examples of the synthetic resin constituting each coating.

That is, the synthetic resin used for forming the non-peelable thin layer 14 includes urethane resin, urethane acrylate resin, epoxy resin, epoxy acrylate resin, polyimide resin, polyorganosilsesquioxane, and fluorocarbon resin. And a liquid resin having a functional group among these resins. Examples of the synthetic resin used for forming the primary coating 15 include a urethane resin, a urethane acrylate resin, a polyorganosiloxane resin, and a liquid resin having a functional group with these resins. As the resin, urethane resin,
Examples include urethane acrylate resins, epoxy resins, epoxy acrylate resins, polyimide resins, polyamide resins, and liquid resins having a functional group with these resins.
These are used by dissolving or dispersing in a solvent as needed.

Each of these coatings is coated with these resins and then crosslinked and cured by irradiation with radiation (light or electron beam) or by heating, or coated with a solution in which these resins are dissolved or dispersed in a solvent, and then heated. It is formed by drying.

In the thus configured optical fiber tape, the optical fiber 11 is made up of the optical fiber 13.
Since the non-peelable thin layer 14 is provided thereon, it can be handled in the same manner as the conventional optical fiber ribbon shown in FIG. In addition, the optical fiber 13 is protected by the non-peelable thin layer 14 and the collective covering 12 having the two-layer structure, so that the transmission characteristics do not deteriorate due to a change in lateral pressure or temperature.

When compared with a conventional optical fiber tape having the same number of strands, both the thickness and the width can be reduced, as described later, and the fiber density can be improved. Therefore, a high-density optical fiber cable can be obtained by using this, and coupling to a high-density PLC becomes easy, and the reliability thereof can be improved.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an example of the second embodiment of the present invention.

In this example, the point that an optical fiber tape core is constituted by a plurality of optical fiber wires 11 closely arranged in parallel with each other and a collective coating 12 applied in a tape shape around the optical fiber wires 11 is as follows. As in the first embodiment, the optical fiber 11 is provided on the non-peelable thin layer 14 described above.
Furthermore, the same synthetic resin as said primary coating 15, i.e., a soft-layer 17 having a Young's modulus consisting 0.01kg / mm ² ~0.5kg / mm ² of synthetic resin at room temperature, In addition, such soft layer 17 The collective coating 12 applied around the optical fiber 11 having the following is a synthetic resin similar to the secondary coating 16, that is, the Young's modulus is 10 kg / mm ^{2 to} 200 kg / mm ^{2 at} room temperature.
It is composed of ² synthetic resins.

The soft layer 17 on the non-peelable thin layer 14
It is desirable to coat the outer diameter of the non-peelable thin layer 14 so as to be twice or less the outer diameter of the non-peelable thin layer 14. It is desirable that the coating be performed so that the width of the optical fiber becomes a tape shape of the element diameter of the optical fiber × the number of the elements + 20 to 150 μm.

Also in this example, the optical fiber 11 can be handled as a work unit, and the optical fiber is formed by the non-peelable thin layer 14, the soft layer 17 provided thereon, and the collective coating 12. 13 is protected, and the transmission characteristics are not degraded due to side pressure or temperature change. Although the fiber density is slightly lower than that of the first embodiment, the density is higher than that of the conventional optical fiber tape.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing an example of the third embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 3, this optical fiber tape is provided on an optical fiber 11 configured in the same manner as in the first embodiment, that is, on an optical fiber 13.
Young's modulus with good adhesion to the cladding layer of
The thickness consisting 0kg / mm ² ~250kg / mm ² of the ultraviolet ray curable resin
A plurality of optical fiber wires provided with a non-peelable thin layer 14 having a thickness of 2 μm to 15 μm are closely arranged in parallel with each other, and around them, the Young's modulus is 1 at room temperature as in the second embodiment.
0 kg / mm ² made of ~200kg / mm ² of the ultraviolet curable resin has a collective coating 12 was subjected to structure. The batch covering 12
The thickness is not more than twice the outer diameter of the optical fiber 11, and the width is the diameter of the optical fiber 11 × the number of wires + 30 to 150 μ
It is desirable to coat so as to form a m-shaped tape.

In this example, although the protection effect on the optical fiber 13 is slightly inferior to that of each of the first and second embodiments, the space factor of the optical fiber is high.
In particular, it is suitable for use in fiber arrays for high-density PLC. In such an application, since the optical fiber tape is used in a short length, a strict protection effect against side pressure and temperature change is not required as in an optical fiber tape used for an optical fiber cable. This is because it is desirable that the space factor of the fiber is as high as possible.

[0032]

Next, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to examples. The Young's modulus is a value measured according to JIS K 7113 at a distance between gauge points of 25 mm, a tensile speed of 1 mm / min, and a 2.5% elongation strain.

Example 1 On a 1.31 μm SM optical fiber having a core diameter of 9.3 μm and a cladding diameter of 115 μm, Young's modulus is 120 kg / mm ² at 23 ° C., -30 ° C.
Then, a 200 kg / mm ² urethane acrylate-based UV-curable resin was coated so as to have an outer diameter of 125 μm, and then cured by irradiating UV rays to obtain an optical fiber. Then, arranging four optical fiber thus obtained, on the outer periphery thereof, 0.1 kg / mm ² Young's modulus at 23 ° C., of 1.0 kg / mm ² at -40 ℃ urethane acrylate ultraviolet curable resin, the thickness 200 μm width 5
Immediately after coating in a 60μm tape shape and curing by irradiating ultraviolet rays, the Young's modulus is 100 kg / mm at 23 ° C.
^{2. A} 210 kg / mm ² urethane acrylate-based UV-curable resin was coated to a thickness of 25 μm at −40 ° C. and cured by irradiating UV rays to obtain an optical fiber tape.

Examples 2 to 4 Eight optical fiber wires produced in the same manner as in Example 1
12 and 16 are arranged, and the Young's modulus is
0.1 kg / mm ² at 23 ° C., a 1.0 kg / mm ² at -40 ℃ urethane acrylate ultraviolet curable resin, are all thickness 200μ
m and widths of 1060 μm, 1560 μm, and 2060 μm, respectively
m, and then cured by irradiating with ultraviolet light, and immediately having a Young's modulus of 10 at 23 ° C.
0 kg / mm ^2, a 210 kg / mm ² at -40 ℃ urethane acrylate ultraviolet curable resin was coated on 25μm thick, ultraviolet was irradiated to cure the light Faibate - give the flop cord.

Each of the optical fiber cables obtained in Examples 1 to 4
The tape thickness and tape width of the optical fiber tape are the same as those of the conventional structure having the same number of wires, that is, the outer diameter is 125 μm.
0.1 kg / mm ² at 23 ° C on an optical fiber
A urethane acrylate-based UV-curable resin of 1.0 kg / mm ² at 40 ° C. is coated so as to have an outer diameter of 200 μm, cured by irradiating ultraviolet rays, and then has a Young's modulus of 23 ° C. at 7 ° C.
0 kg / mm ² , 150 kg / mm ² urethane acrylate UV curable resin at -40 ° C is coated so that the outer diameter becomes 250 μm, and the required number of optical fiber wires that are cured by irradiating UV rays are arranged. The Young's modulus at its outer circumference is 100kg / mm ² at 23 ℃,-
A urethane acrylate UV curable resin of 210 kg / mm ² at 40 ° C. was coated in a lump in a tape form and irradiated with ultraviolet rays to be cured.

[0036]

[Table 1] As is clear from Table 1, for example, in the case of the eight-core optical fiber tape of the second embodiment, the conventional four-core optical fiber tape is used.
Comparing the same number of strands, such as the same size as the core wire, shows that each of them has a smaller thickness and width, and that a higher density cable can be obtained.
That is, for example, for a conventional four-core optical fiber tape
For the 300-fiber (four-core x five-fiber x 15-groove) slot-type optical fiber cable, the 720-fiber (eight-fiber x six-fiber x 15-groove) slot-type optical fiber cable using the eight-core optical fiber tape of the second embodiment. It can be a fiber cable, where the fiber density is
2.4 times. Also, the conventional 600-fiber (8-fiber x 10-fiber x 8-groove) slot-type optical fiber cable and the 1000-fiber (8-fiber x 10-fiber x 13-flute) slot-type optical fiber cable for conventional 8-fiber optical fiber tape are as follows. The 16-fiber optical fiber cable of the fourth embodiment
It is possible to make 1660 core (16 cores x 13 sheets x 8 grooves) slot type optical fiber cable and 2700 cores (16 cores x 13 sheets x 13 grooves) slot type optical fiber cable using In this case, the fiber density is 2.7 times.

When the change in the transmission loss with respect to the temperature change of -40 ° C. to 80 ° C. was examined for the optical fiber tape cores obtained in Examples 1 to 4, all were 0.02 dB / km or less. When a slot type optical fiber cable was manufactured using these optical fiber tapes, no change was observed in the transmission loss in any of the tapes.

Example 5 A Young's modulus of 120 kg / mm ² at 23 ° C. and -30 μm on a 1.31 μm SM optical fiber having a core diameter of 9.3 μm and a cladding diameter of 115 μm.
A 200 kg / mm ² urethane acrylate ultraviolet curable resin was coated at 125 ° C. so as to have an outer diameter of 125 μm, and cured by irradiating ultraviolet rays to obtain an optical fiber. Then, on top of that, the Young's modulus is 0.1 kg / mm ² at 23 ° C and 1.0 kg / mm at -40 ° C.
² ) Urethane acrylate UV curable resin with outer diameter
The coating was applied to a thickness of 180 μm, and cured by irradiating ultraviolet rays to form a soft layer. Then, arranging four optical fiber having a soft layer obtained, 70 kg / mm ² Young's modulus is 23 ° C. on the outer circumference, thickness of the urethane acrylate ultraviolet curable resin 150 kg / mm ² at -30 ° C. 200 μm width 560
The resultant was coated in a lump-shaped tape and cured by irradiating ultraviolet rays to obtain an optical fiber tape.

Examples 6 to 8 Eight, twelve, and sixteen optical fiber strands having a soft layer produced in the same manner as in Example 5 were arranged, and the outer periphery of each of them was 100 kg / kg at 23 ° C. at a Young's modulus of 23 ° C. mm ² , 210kg / mm at -40 ℃
² urethane acrylate UV curable resin, each with a thickness of 200μm, width 1490μm, 2210μm respectively
m, and 2930 μm in a tape form, and cured by irradiating ultraviolet rays to obtain an optical fiber tape.

Each of the optical fiber cables obtained in Examples 5 to 8
Table 2 shows the tape thickness and tape width of the optical fiber tape in comparison with a conventional optical fiber tape having the same number of strands.

[0041]

[Table 2] As is clear from Table 2, when comparing the same number of wires, the thickness and the width are all smaller, and the space factor of the optical fiber is improved.

Incidentally, the optical fiber tape cores obtained in Examples 5 to 8 were also used in the same manner as in Example 1;
When the change in transmission loss with respect to the temperature change was investigated, all were less than 0.02 dB / km. When a slot type optical fiber cable was manufactured using these optical fiber tapes, no change in the transmission loss was observed in any of the tape cores.

Examples 9 to 12 Four optical fiber wires produced in the same manner as in Example 1
8 arranges 12, and 16, the respective outer peripheral, 100 kg / mm ² Young's modulus at 23 ° C., of 210 kg / mm ² at -40 ℃ urethane acrylate ultraviolet curable resin, any thickness
200μm, width 0.56μm, 1.06μm, 1.56μ respectively
m and 2.06 μm were collectively coated to form a tape, and cured by irradiating ultraviolet rays to obtain an optical fiber tape.

Table 3 shows the tape thickness and tape width of each of the optical fiber tapes obtained in Examples 9 to 12 in comparison with the conventional optical fiber tapes having the same number of strands.

[0045]

[Table 3] As is clear from Table 3, when comparing the same number of strands, the thickness and width are all smaller and the space factor of the optical fiber is improved.

[0046]

As described above, according to the optical fiber tape of the present invention, the optical fiber clad layer has
Since an optical fiber strand provided with a non-peelable thin layer made of a synthetic resin having a high Young's modulus having good adhesion to the cladding layer is used, the space factor of the optical fiber can be increased, Using this, a high-density optical fiber cable can be obtained. In addition, it is possible to manufacture a high-density fiber array with excellent workability and reliability.
The reliability of C can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an example of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing an example of a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional optical fiber tape.

FIG. 5 shows a high-density P using a conventional optical fiber tape.
The perspective view showing the example of composition of the fiber array for LC.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11: Optical fiber 12: Collective coating 13: Optical fiber 14: Non-peelable thin layer 15: Primary coating 16: Secondary coating 17: Soft layer

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Tomooka Murase, Inventor Showa Electric Wire & Cable Co., Ltd. 2-1-1 Oda Sakae, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture (72) Keiko Shiraishi, Inventor Keiko Shiraishi 2-1, 1-1 Showa Electric Cable Co., Ltd.

Claims (8)

[Claims] To 1. A fiber optic cladding layer, an optical fiber element having a Young's modulus is provided a non-peeling of the thin layer to said cladding layer consisting of 50kg / mm ² ~250kg / mm ² of synthetic resin at room temperature An optical fiber tape comprising a plurality of wires arranged in parallel and an outer periphery of which is collectively coated. 2. The optical fiber tape according to claim 1, wherein the non-peelable thin layer has a thickness of 2 μm to 15 μm. 3. An optical fiber cable according to claim 1, wherein
When the Young's modulus is 0.01 kg / mm ^{2 to} 0.5 kg / mm
A primary coating consisting of ^two or less of the synthetic resin, light characterized by comprising the coating of two-layer structure of a secondary coating of a Young's modulus at room temperature of a synthetic resin 10kg / mm ² ~200kg / mm ² Faibate - flop Cord. 4. The optical fiber tape according to claim 3, wherein the optical fibers are substantially closely contacted and arranged in parallel.
The primary coating is formed so that the thickness is no more than twice the diameter of the optical fiber and the width is a tape-like finished shape with the diameter of the optical fiber x the number of strands + 30 to 100 μm. And an optical fiber tape coated with a secondary coating having a thickness of 20 μm to 100 μm. 5. The optical fiber cable according to claim 1, wherein
In flop cord, 0.01kg / mm ² ~0 Young's modulus at room temperature on the optical fiber.
Forming a soft layer made of a synthetic resin 5 kg / mm ² to a plurality of parallel, 10kg / mm ² ~20 Young's modulus in an outer periphery thereof at room temperature
An optical fiber tape having a batch coating made of a synthetic resin of 0 kg / mm ² . 6. The optical fiber tape according to claim 5, wherein the finished outer diameter of the soft layer is not more than twice as large as the outer diameter of the optical fiber, and the optical fiber having the soft layer is approximately Close and parallel, the thickness is less than twice the diameter of the optical fiber strand, and the width is the diameter of the optical fiber strand x
An optical fiber tape comprising a blanket coating formed so as to have a tape-like finished shape of the number of wires + 20 to 150 µm. 7. An optical fiber cable according to claim 1 or 2.
In the case of bulk cored wire, the Young's modulus is 10 kg / mm ^{2 to} 200 kg / mm
Light, characterized in that it consists of ^two synthetic resin Faibate -
Wire. 8. The optical fiber tape according to claim 7, wherein the optical fibers are arranged substantially in close contact with each other and in parallel.
The blanket coating is formed so that the thickness is less than twice the diameter of the optical fiber strand and the width is the tape-like finished shape of the optical fiber strand diameter x the number of strands + 30 µm to 150 µm. An optical fiber tape core characterized by the following.