A NOVEL TECHNIQUE FOR STUDYING WATER ASSOCIATED WITH OPTICAL FIBERS

THE DEGRADATION IN OPTICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF FIBERS CAUSED BY ATMOSPHERIC WATER IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM. LITTLE IS KNOWN, HOWEVER, OF THE TYPES AND QUANTITIES OF WATER ACTUALLY ASSOCIATED WITH OPTICAL FIBERS, AND THE MECHANISM FOR THE DELETERIOUS EFFECT OF THESE STATES OF WATER. THIS PROJECT WILL UTILIZE A NEW METHOD TO STUDY THE WATER ASSOCIATED WITH OPTICAL FIBERS. THE METHOD CONTINUOUSLY MEASURES THE QUANTITY OF WATER DESORBED FROM FIBERS AS THEY ARE HEATED AT A CONSTANT RATE. THE METHOD CAN DISTINGUISH BETWEEN PHYSICALLY ADSORBED, CHEMICAL ADSORBED, NEAR SURFACE, AND BULK WATER. SINCE AS LITTLE AS 0.01 MICROGRAMS OF WATER CAN BE DETECTED FROMA 10 GRAM SAMPLE, THE METHOD IS SUFFICIENTLY SENSITIVE TO MEASURE SUBMONOLAYER QUANTITIES OF WATER. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PHASE I STUDY IS TO DEMONSTRATE THE USEFULNESS OF THE THERMODESORPTION METHOD THROUGH MEASURMENT OF THE WATER ASSOCIATED WITH THE BARE AND COATED OPTICAL FILAMENTS. WATER ADSORPTION ISOTHERMS WILL ALSO BE GENERATED FOR EACH SAMPLE. THIS PHASE I STUDY WILL GENERATE UNIQUE CHEMICAL INFORMATION CONCERNING OPTICAL FIBERS. THIS STUDY WILL SERVE AS THE BASIS FOR A COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION OF THE EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENTAL WATER ON OPTICAL FIBERS.