Origin of temperature dependence of microbending attenuation in fiber optic cables

Abstract

Abstract Temperature-induced changes in the attenuation of multimode optical fiber cables are shown to be caused by mismatch between the thermal expansion coefficients of the fiber and the cabling materials. A quantitative theoretical model of low temperature loss, based on the formation of fiber microbends by microvariations in the jacket concentricity, is described. This model applies to tightly jacketed, soft buffered cable designs. An equation relating the low temperature optical attenuation to cable parameters is derived using this model. Good agreement is obtained between this theoretical prediction and experimental results. The theoretical model is used to compare the effectiveness of different cable designs on reducing excess loss at low temperature.