1,728-Fiber Cable With 12-Fiber Ribbons Comprising 160-μm-Coating Fiber With 80-μm Cladding

A small-coating-diameter fiber is an attractive solution for realizing ultrahigh-density cables. A 6,912-fiber high-density cable with 200-μm-coating fibers was realized with a diameter that was 16% smaller than that with 250-μm-coating fibers. We demonstrated the applicability of a 160-μm-coating fiber with 80-μm cladding to further reduce the cable diameter. The combination of cladding and coating diameters was chosen in terms of the micro-bending sensitivity and abrasion resistance of an optical fiber. The simulated micro-bending sensitivity of the 160-μm-coating fiber was reduced to a level similar to that of a 200-μm-coating fiber by reducing the Young's modulus to one-third that of the current material. The fabricated 160-μm-coating fibers exhibited the expected micro-bending sensitivity. A 1,728-fiber cable with 12-fiber ribbons comprising the fabricated 160-μm-coating fibers realized a reduction in cable diameter of 26% compared with that using 200-μm-coating fibers, exhibiting good attenuation characteristics over a heat cycle test and satisfying the general requirements for optical fiber cables. We realized a fusion splice between 12-fiber ribbons of 160-μm fiber and a multi-fiber push on (MPO) connector between 80-μm- and 125-μm-cladding fibers. The connection technologies facilitated the application of the proposed 160-μm-coating fiber to existing systems whose interface was a conventional 125-μm-cladding fiber.