Corning Incorporated
Optical fiber coating and composition with UV-absorbing additive

Abstract:

A coating composition containing a radiation-curable component, a photoinitiator, and a UV absorber is described. The coating composition may be applied to an optical fiber and cured to form a coating. The UV absorber provides a protective function by inhibiting unintended curing of the coating that may occur upon exposure of the fiber to UV light during fiber processing. The spectral overlap of the photoinitiator and UV absorber is minimized to permit efficient photoinitiation of the curing reaction over one or more wavelengths. Photoinitiation may be excited by an LED source with a peak emission wavelength in the range from 360 nm-410 nm.