A preform material including a starter tip to facilitate an initial fiber draw from the preform within a furnace, wherein the tip comprises a vacuum-sealed tip to receive a plastic grip which attached to an end of a preform.

A system for drawing optical fiber in microgravity including a sealed housing to prevent infiltration of at least humidity and filled with a dry environment, a preform holder located within the sealed housing to hold preform material, a furnace located within the sealed housing to receive the preform material from the preform holder and to heat the preform material from which the optical fiber is pulled, a feed system to move the preform material from the preform holder to the furnace, a drawing mechanism located within the sealed housing to pull the optical fiber from the preform material within the furnace, a diameter monitor located within the sealed housing to measure a diameter of the optical fiber and a fiber collection mechanism located. within the sealed housing to gather and store the optical fiber.

An optical fiber draw furnace muffle includes a body portion defining a substantially cylindrical cavity extending along a centerline axis of the muffle. A tapered portion has an interior surface which defines a first curved portion with a first radius of curvature and a second curved portion with a second radius of curvature. At least one of the first and second radii of curvature has a radius greater than a radius of the cylindrical cavity.

A preform material including a starter tip to facilitate an initial fiber draw from the preform within a furnace, wherein the tip comprises a vacuum-sealed tip to receive a plastic grip which attached to an end of a preform.

A sensor system to provide data for use to control manufacture of an optical fiber in microgravity including a diameter sensor to monitor a diameter of a fiber drawn from a preform material, a tension sensor to monitor tension of the fiber as the fiber is pulled from the preform material to a storage device and a controller in communication with at least one of the diameter sensor and the tension sensor to evaluate sensor data to determine at least one of a speed and rate at which the fiber is pulled from the preform material.

A system for controlling an ambient microgravity environment of a system for drawing optical fiber including a filter arranged to cleanse an environment from contaminants, a molecular sieve arranged in a series of at least one of meshes and baffles to dehumidify the environment, at least one of a pump and a fan to draw an environmental gas through the filter, through the molecular sieve and back in to an ambient environment and a housing in which the filter, molecular sieve and at least one of pump and fan reside.

A system for receiving optical fiber in microgravity including a spool portion to hold optical fiber created in microgravity, a catching mechanism to secure the fiber end to the spool and a capturing device that is extendable from near and retractable to near the spool portion to pull the optical fiber to the spool portion.

A system for precoating a preform for drawing optical fiber including a diameter sensor to determine a diameter of pulled optical fiber, a cooling system to cool the optical fiber once it is pulled from a furnace, a coating system to apply a coating to the optical fiber once it has cooled and an ultra-violet lamp to cure the coating.

A method of forming an optical fiber, the method including heating a forming region of the optical fiber preform within a pressure device while exposing the forming region to a total pressure of about 500 atm or greater, directing the optical fiber preform in a downstream direction along a process pathway to form the optical fiber, and traversing the optical fiber through an aperture of a nozzle to maintain the total pressure of about 500 atm or greater within the pressure device.