Abstract

Optical fibers are always coated with a protective jacket to seal them against external forces. If the thermal expansion coefficient of the coating material is larger than that of the fiber, thermal buckling is caused by compressive force exerted on the fiber as its operating temperature decreases. Calculations have shown that there must exist other sources of compressive strain for the fiber to buckle. We study the microbending mechanism as a possible source of added losses at low temperatures and then investigate the parameters through which such a loss can be minimized.

© 1990 Optical Society of America