- Fusion splicing
Fusion splicing is the act of joining two
optical fiber s end-to-end using heat. The goal is to fuse the two fibers together in such a way that light passing through the fibers is not scattered or reflected back by the splice, and so that the splice and the region surrounding it are almost as strong as the virgin fiber itself. The source of heat is usually anelectric arc , but can also be atungsten filament through which current is passed.The following steps are necessary to splice optical fiber:
#The coatings of the two fibers to be spliced together must be stripped off.
#The fibers must be cleaned.
#Each fiber must be cleaved so that its endface is perfectly flat and perpendicular to the axis of the fiber.
#The two endfaces of the fibers are aligned.
#The two fibers are fused together.
#The bare fiber area is protected either by recoating or with a splice protector.
#It is often desirable to perform a proof-test to ensure that the splice is strong enough to survive handling, packaging and extended use.Alternatives to fusion splicing include using
optical fiber connector s ormechanical splice s both of which have higherinsertion loss es, lower reliability and higherreturn loss es than fusion splicing.ee also
*Termination and splicing.
References
*"Optical Fiber Fusion Splicing" by A. D. Yablon
Further reading
*"Introduction to Fiber Optics" by John Crisp
* [http://www.ericsson.com/products/literature/Fusion_Splicing_literature.shtml Ericsson Fusion Splicing Product Literature]
* [http://www.fujikura.co.uk/fibre_optics/products/splicers/index.html Fujikura Fusion Splicing Product Literature]
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