The effect of optical fiber core and cladding diameter on the loss added by packaging and thermal cycling

We conducted an experimental investigation of the effect of fiber cladding and core diameters on the loss added by packaging and thermal cycling. The results confirm the general trends predicted by theory and indicate that fibers with 125-μm claddings and 50-μm cores should have about three times less microbending loss than 110-μm/55-μm fibers. These results contributed to the adoption of the 125-μm/50-μm dimensions for the FT3 metropolitan trunk lightwave system.