Patent 7366383 was granted and assigned to Sumitomo Electric Industries on April, 2008 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
An optical fiber 1 comprising a glass portion 2 having a core 2a and a cladding 2b, and one or more covering layers 3 formed around the glass portion 2, in which an arrangement form of the covering layer 3 with respect to the glass portion 2 in cross section perpendicular to a longitudinal direction thereof is changed continuously in the longitudinal direction thereof.