Shin-Etsu to Obtain OFS Low-Water-Peak License

OFS and Shin-Etsu Chemical Co announced that OFS has agreed to license OFS’ U.S. Patent No. 6,131,415 and its foreign counterparts to Shin-Etsu.

This patent relates to the method of manufacture of preforms with a soot-based core rod, such as Vapor Axial Deposition (VAD) and synthetic overclad cylinder glass to provide low water peak fiber performance.

This patented preform process is used to manufacture OFS’s AllWave ZWP fibers, which exceed the industry’s most stringent and comprehensive table of specifications for standard single-mode fiber, ITU-T G.652.D. The full-spectrum capability of low-water-peak fiber allows system designers using fiber made from the associated preform to support systems that leverage the E-band (1360-1460 nanometer) transmission window.

Access to the E-band window increases usable capacity by 50 percent and allows for application of dense WDM (DWDM) or coarse WDM (CWDM) across the spectrum. Carriers today globally recognize the increased network capability and opportunity for return on investment that comes with specifying to this high standard. OFS, through its Lucent-AT&T-Bell Labs heritage, was the pioneer in this technology.

This agreement between leading fiber-optic companies demonstrates the importance of low-water-peak fibers. It further supports the performance and cost competitiveness of the pure synthetic hybrid VAD /Cylinder preform technology employed by OFS.