PRODUCTION OF OPTICAL FIBER PREFORM AND APPARATUS THEREFOR

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide both a method for producing an optical fiber preform by which the deflection of the optical fiber preform can automatically be corrected and an apparatus therefor. SOLUTION: This apparatus comprises a controller capable of measuring the outside diameter over plural sites of a starting material 8 with measuring devices 20 and 21 before deposition of glass fine particles, storing the resultant data in a memory region of an arithmetic unit, measuring the outside diameter and the deflection of the optical fiber preform 14 during the deposition of the glass fine particles with the measuring devices 20 and 21, correcting the position of a burner 11 by an extent of the deflection extent of the optical fiber preform 14 based on the data measured last time, measuring the latest data, storing the resultant data in other memory regions of the arithmetic unit, moving the starting material 8, calculating the average of the variation of the outside diameter when reversing the starting material 8 at one turning point, separating the position of the burner 11 from the preform 14 by the half thereof, discarding the data at one time before and using the latest data as the data at one time before. The operations are repeated to thereby correct the deflection.