Hermetic carbon coated fiber

For challenging applications, such as down-hole sensing in oil and gas industry, require fibers that can withstand e.g. high pressures of hydrogen and moderate to high temperatures.

Acreo has developed a proprietary process for making optical fibers coated with hermetic carbon, combined with polyimides or high temperature acrylate.

When Acreo started this R&D, it involved in-depth studies of processes and kinetics of chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Over the course of the project, the research on CVD processes gave way for process development and verification of the same coating technology.

The research and development was carried out with partners within Acreo Fiber Optic Center. The process is now fully commercially qualified and the performance of the fibers are verified in commercial field trials. The fibers are marketed by Fibertronix, and offered as a production process at Acreo Fiberlab.

In parallel, research on alternative materials is continued, targeting other inorganic functional coatings.