RADIATION CURABLE COMPOSITIONS FOR COATING OPTICAL FIBER VIA ALTERNATIVE OLIGOMERS AND THE COATINGS PRODUCED THEREFROM

摘要

Described and claimed herein are radiation curable compositions for coating an optical fiber, particularly primary coating compositions, wherein the composition possesses specified liquid glass transition temperatures, and/or viscosity ratios between, e.g., 25 °C and 85 °C. Such compositions preferably possess large amounts of a reactive oligomer component that is either not substantially derived from, or preferably substantially free from polypropylene glycol, with select diisocyanate constituents, one or more reactive diluent monomers, a photoinitiator, and optionally, one or more additives. Such compositions also are preferably sufficiently viscous at room temperature to ensure optimum optical fiber coating processability. Also described and claimed are methods of using such radiation curable compositions in high speed and/or low helium optical fiber coating applications, along with the coated optical fibers produced therefrom.