Study of Degradation of Optical Fiber in Copper Coating

It has been shown that the strength of copper-coated optical fiber in air at elevated temperatures decreases over time, primarily due to degradation of the copper coating due to oxidation, which leads to the appearance and growth of point defects on the surface of silica glass. In this case, the optical fibers remain operational at 600°C for ~1.5 hours, and at 500°C for ~16 hours. The activation energy of the process is in the range of 120–123 kJ/mol. The results obtained make it possible to predict the stability of the optical fibers in air at 300°C for ~1.5 years, and at 250°C for ~17 years.