The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an optical fiber, which method comprises the following steps: i) providing a hollow substrate tube, ii) passing doped or undoped reactive, glass-forming gases through the interior of the hollow substrate tube, iii) creating such conditions in the interior of the hollow substrate tube that deposition of glass layers onto the interior of the hollow substrate tube takes place, wherein a non-isothermal plasma is reciprocated between two reversal points along the substrate tube, wherein the velocity of movement of the plasma decreases to zero at each reversal point, iv) collapsing the substrate tube thus obtained so as to form a solid preform, and v) drawing an optical fiber from said solid preform. In addition to that, the present invention relates to a preform for manufacturing an optical fiber, as well as to an optical fiber.