Influence of temperature and aging on polarization mode dispersion of tight-buffered optical fibers and cables

This paper presents results of laboratory tests investigating influence of temperature on polarization mode dispersion (PMD) in variety of single mode optical fibers and cables. Research was focused primarily on tight-buffered fibers, where most pronounced effects resulting from buffer shrinkage or expansion were expected. The goal was to verify performance of optical fiber cable exposed to extreme temperatures and to compare behavior of different cables. Very strong temperature dependence of PMD was detected in standard single mode fibers with 0.9 mm tight buffer, commonly used in indoor cables, and in complete cable with such fiber. However, both nonzero dispersion-shifted fibers, spun during drawing and optical unit used in optical ground wire (OPGW), where 12 fibers are stranded showed good stability of PMD during thermal cycling. The same optical unit extracted from OPGW exhibited excellent PMD stability also during accelerated life test.