Specialty Optical Fibers Handbook

exposure to visible or UV radiation creates colloidal Ag, which in turn leads to

increased losses in the IR. Finally, the AgBrCl is corrosive to many metals.

Therefore, the fibers should be packaged in dark jackets and connectorized with

materials such as Ti, Au, or ceramic materials.

The mechanical properties of these ductile fibers are quite different from those

of glass fibers. The fibers are weak, with ultimate tensile strengths of about

80 MPa for a 50/50 mixture of AgBrCl. The main difference, however, between

the PC and glass fibers is that the PC fibers plastically deform well before

fracture. This plastic deformation leads to increased loss as a result of increased

scattering from separated grain boundaries. Therefore, in use, the fibers