Protective Coatings for Specialty Fibers
Hybrid Glass Technologies has developed a new class of hybrid glass coatings that are capable of preserving and enhancing the strength of silica glass optical fibers operating in adverse environments. These coatings are especially suited for aerospace fibers.
Product Highlights
The primary functions of hybrid glass coating include protection against water corrosion, mechanical damage, abrasion and high temperature degradation. These characteristics highlight the advantages of HGT materials over commercial polymeric coatings. The hybrid glass coatings produced by Hybrid Glass Technologies have greatly improved the tolerance to these adverse environments and provide performance and functionality unavailable in competitive materials.
As an example, hybrid glass coatings bond covalently to optical fibers, thus eliminating the need for stripping before fiber termination and/or splicing. Hybrid glass coatings impart higher mechanical strength and higher stress corrosion resistance to optical fibers compared to standard polymer coatings. Hybrid glass coatings also offer a better thermal expansion match with the silica glass than polymeric coatings and therefore microbending losses arising from thermally induced stresses are minimized. Hybrid glass coatings do not swell in water or common organic solvent, thus minimizing coating degradation. These properties, combined with excellent chemical and heat resistance, yield superior optical fiber operational reliability in combination with the benefits of small fiber diameter, minimal bend radius and ease of termination. Extended device and component lifetimes are realized in tactical aircraft and other military vehicles when these fibers are used.
Key properties:
- Lightweight
- Small diameter
- Flexible
- Heat and thermal shock resistant
- Flame retardant
- Stress corrosion resistant
- Thermally stable
- Chemically resistant
- Stripping not required at terminations
- HGT fiber systems withstand high vibration environments.