Specialty Optical Fibers Handbook

4.7.4 Coating Adhesion

Coating adhesion was thought to be a prerequisite for retention of fiber

strength. This is why many optical fiber coatings in direct contact with glass

have contained some type of adhesion-promoting agent since the time of

Vazarani’s patent [13]. Silane coupling agents have typically filled this role.

Many of these silane molecules contain three alkoxy silane groups on one end

of the molecule and an organofunctional terminus of some type at the opposite

end. The organofunctional group is selected to react with the coating network

and, thus, be tied to the glass through the alkoxy silane groups. Silane coupling

agents improve the adhesion of coatings in wet and dry environments. In 1982,

Plueddemann [101] produced an excellent ...