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The present invention relates to an optical fiber that includes a glass fiber and three or more coatings that encapsulate the glass fiber, where the three or more coatings include a primary coating in contact with said glass fiber, one or more intermediate coatings that surround the primary coating,

The present invention relates to an optical fiber that includes a glass fiber and three or more coatings that encapsulate the glass fiber, where the three or more coatings include a primary coating in contact with said glass fiber, one or more intermediate coatings that surround the primary coating, and a secondary coating that surrounds the intermediate coatings. Both three-coating and four-coating systems are described that afford improve microbend performance.

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1. An optical fiber comprising: a glass fiber; andthree or more coatings that encapsulate the glass fiber, where the three or more coatings comprise a primary coating in contact with said glass fiber, an intermediate coating that surrounds the primary coating, and an outer coating that surrounds the

1. An optical fiber comprising: a glass fiber; andthree or more coatings that encapsulate the glass fiber, where the three or more coatings comprise a primary coating in contact with said glass fiber, an intermediate coating that surrounds the primary coating, and an outer coating that surrounds the intermediate coating;wherein the primary coating comprises a Young's modulus of about 0.025 to about 3 MPa and a glass transition temperature (Tg) of about −100° C. to about −25° C., and the intermediate coating comprises one or both of a Young's modulus that is substantially the same as, or lower than, the Young's modulus of the primary coating, and a Tg that is substantially the same as, or lower than, the Tg of the primary coating; andwherein the outer coating of the optical fiber has a diameter that is less than about 300 μm. 2. The optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate coating comprises one or both of a Young's modulus that is less than about 0.2 MPa, and a Tg of about −100° C. to about −25° C. 3. The optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein the outer coating comprises one or both of a Young's modulus of about 0.5 to about 8.0 GPa, and a Tg of about 50° C. to about 120° C. 4. The optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein the primary coating has a thickness of less than about 15 μm. 5. The optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate coating has a thickness of less than about 15 μm. 6. The optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein the outer coating has a thickness of less than about 40 μm. 7. The optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein the three or more coatings have a thickness that is less than about 60 μm. 8. The optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein the primary coating is the polymerization product of a composition comprising one or more cross-linkable agents, a polymerization initiator, and an adhesion promoter; andthe intermediate coating is the polymerization product of a composition that is the same as the composition that forms the primary coating except for omission of the adhesion promoter. 9. An optical fiber comprising: a glass fiber; andat least four coatings that encapsulate the glass fiber, where the at least four coatings comprise a primary coating in contact with said glass fiber, a first intermediate coating that surrounds the primary coating, a second intermediate coating that surrounds the first intermediate coating, and an outer coating that surrounds the second intermediate coating;wherein the first intermediate coating comprises one or both of a Young's modulus that is higher than a Young's modulus of the primary coating, and a glass transition temperature (Tg) that is higher than a Tg of the primary coating;wherein the second intermediate coating comprises one or both of a Young's modulus that is lower than the Young's modulus of the first intermediate coating, and a Tg that is lower than the Tg of the first intermediate coating;wherein the outer coating comprises one or both of a Young's modulus that is higher than the Young's modulus of the second intermediate coating, and a Tg that is higher than the Tg of the second intermediate coating; andwherein the optical fiber has a diameter that is less than about 300 μm. 10. The optical fiber according to claim 9, wherein the second intermediate coating comprises one or both of a Young's modulus that is substantially the same as, or lower than, the Young's modulus of the primary coating, and a Tg that is substantially the same as, or lower than, the Tg of the primary coating. 11. The optical fiber according to claim 9, wherein the primary coating comprises one or both of a Young's modulus of about 0.025 to about 3 MPa, and a Tg of about −100° C. to about −25° C. 12. The optical fiber according to claim 11, wherein the first intermediate coating comprises one or both of a Young's modulus of about 0.1 to about 2.0 GPa, and a Tg of about 0° C. to about 60° C. 13. The optical fiber according to claim 12, wherein the second intermediate coating comprises one or both of a Young's modulus that is less than about 0.2 MPa, and a Tg of about −100° C. to about −30° C. 14. The optical fiber according to claim 13, wherein the outer coating comprises one or both of a Young's modulus that is about 0.1 to about 2.0 GPa, and a Tg of about 50° C. to about 120° C. 15. The optical fiber according to claim 9, wherein the primary coating has a thickness of less than about 15 μm. 16. The optical fiber according to claim 9, wherein the first intermediate coating has a thickness of less than about 15 μm. 17. The optical fiber according to claim 9, wherein the second intermediate coating has a thickness of less than about 40 μm. 18. The optical fiber according to claim 9, wherein the outer coating has a thickness of less than about 40 μm. 19. The optical fiber according to claim 9, wherein the four or more coatings have a thickness that is less than about 60 μm. 20. The optical fiber according to claim 9, wherein one or both of the second intermediate coating and outer coating have a thickness that is between about 2 to about 10 times the thickness of, respectively, the primary coating and the first intermediate coating.