Ultraviolet curable coatings for optical fiber for wet-on-wet application

摘要

The present invention is a method of making an optical fiber, and the fiber itself, where the primary and secondary coatings are cured simultaneously with UV radiation. The method of making the optical fiber comprises applying (5) the primary coating on a glass fiber (optical fiber) where the primary coating has a first photoinitiator which allows the primary coating to be cured by a first wavelength range of UV light, applying (10) the secondary coating over the primary coating where the secondary coating contains a second photoinitiator whose UV reaction spectra is substantially different from the first photoinitiator in the primary coating and which allows the secondary coating to be cured through exposure to UV radiation in a second wavelength range of UV light, and finally by exposing (50) the optical fiber, having the two coatings, to a UV light source which contains wavelengths in both wavelength ranges of the first and second photoinitiators, so that the primary and secondary coatings cure simultaneously. The present invention is directed to eliminating the problems of uncontrollable post-cure hardening of the coatings, that exist in present manufacturing methods, while at the same time greatly reducing the time and costs involved in making optical fibers by reducing the height of the draw tower and increasing production speeds, without compromising the quality or durability of the fiber coatings.