The objective of the project is to evaluate and to apply a newly developed nano-particle material (NPM) as an attractive substitute for polymer coatings of optical glass fibers. The NPM is both hermetic and low modulus and possesses several additional merits: immunity to corrosion, good adhesion to the adjacent materials, hydrophobicity, practically infinite lifetime, "self-healing" ability, etc. The NPM application will enable one to reduce considerably the outer diameter of the coated fiber and to make the fiber highly mechanically reliable, environmentally duarable and extremely cost effective. The preliminary test data are very encouraging. Benefits The new coating design will be very attractive to both leading (large) optical fiber manufacturers, as well as to small companies. No significant changes in the existing drawing equipment are necessary. The application of the proposed design will result in higher quality and lower cost of the photonics products employing silica opticalc fibers. Keywords Non-polymer coatings, Nano-partical material, Reliability, Durability, Optical fibers
