Innovations in Optical Fiber

Manufacturing Excellence Across the Globe

Manufacturing Excellence Across the Globe

A unique focus on manufacturing processes drives success

Corning’s invention of low-loss optical fiber was a milestone that forever changed the communications landscape. But invention was only the first step. Without a way to manufacture the product, with consistent reliability and performance, the invention would be futile.

Soon after inventing the product, and even before a large order had been placed, Corning began developing the processes that would set the standard for manufacturing excellence across the industry. This eventually resulted in the production of more than 1 billion kilometers of optical fiber, nearly one-third of all terrestrial and oceanic optical communications networks.

The root of this success? A steadfast and unique focus on and commitment to the processes and principles that drive manufacturing excellence across the globe.

Corning produces all the glass for our optical fiber from raw materials, ensuring the highest quality and performance over the fiber’s entire service life. This means that every strand of our fiber has full traceability to every step of our process, all the way back to raw materials.

Every step of our manufacturing process is put through exacting and diligent quality control, providing unmatched performance characteristics including dispersion, attenuation, fiber geometry, and bandwidth. We design and build our manufacturing equipment for process control and product consistency, and every centimeter of optical fiber produced is proof-tested to ensure it meets the highest strength requirements.

The results are unrivaled. With optical fiber manufacturing facilities across the globe – including multiple locations in the United States, China, India, and Poland – every optical fiber is shipped with the same reliability and performance standards that distinguish Corning products from all others. 

Our Outside Vapor Deposition (OVD) Process

optical fiber image

Laydown

In laydown, ultra-pure raw materials are deposited in their purest form – vapor. Quality control systems monitor the process and each layer is evenly and precisely deposited. The soot-covered target is called a preform.

OVD process

Consolidation

During consolidation, the soot preform is placed into a furnace and transformed from a porous glass compound into a solid transparent glass so pure that its contaminant levels are measured in parts per billion.

OVD process

Draw

During the draw process, the fiber preform is lowered into a furnace where a gob of hot glass descends. It is removed and the fiber is threaded through a device that controls the speed of the draw and the fiber diameter.

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