Patent attributes
Disclosed is an improved optical fiber possessing a novel coating system. When combined with a bend-insensitive glass fiber, the novel coating system according to the present invention yields an optical fiber having exceptionally low losses. The coating system features (i) a softer primary coating with excellent low-temperature characteristics to protect against microbending in any environment and in the toughest physical situations and, optionally, (ii) a colored secondary coating possessing enhanced color strength and vividness. The secondary coating provides improved ribbon characteristics for structures that are robust, yet easily entered (i.e., separated and stripped). The optical fibers in accordance in the present invention may be incorporated into a reduced-diameter optical-fiber cable that possesses a high fiber count and a high cable fiber density. The high-fiber-density optical-fiber cable, which is suitable for deployments in ducts, is capable of achieving outstanding attenuation performance when subjected to temperature variations of between about −40° C. and 70° C.
