Accelerated aging and life tests of optical fibers

The reliability of the network optical fibers is a critical issue for telecommunications.New investigations methods have been developed within a cooperative program supported by France Telecom. They include low coherence interferometry and optical near field microscopy in association with classical analysis tools such as Scanning Electron Microscopy and Shear Force Microscopy. One aim of the study is the localization and the characterization of the defects from which failure originates. The aging effect has been investigated in silica fibers immersed in desionized water at 65 oc and 85 "C for different times: from 3 to 12 months