Measuring Devices for Quality Control of Optical Fibers in the Drawing Tower for a Perfect Fit in Subsea Cables

摘要

Optical fiber is ideal for carrying higher data rates over longer distances. An expected increase in subsea processing will generate more data making the high bandwidth and longer transmission distances of optical fiber even more desirable. We are currently observing two developments in manufacturing optical fibers. On the one hand, there are countries such as China and the USA advancing further into the optical fiber market as copper cables are exchanged by optical fibers to meet the increasing demand for data transfer of more than 1 terabit per second. These countries have a backlog for drawing towers and are investing in new lines. On the other hand, there are manufacturers who have been producing high-quality optical fibers for many years, but who cannot keep up with the speed of modern lines. These run the optical fiber with 1200 mpm whereas state-of-the-art towers achieve 3000 mpm today.