Posted by
Jilong Fibers on Wednesday, December 10, 2008 5:00:00 PM
The process of fusion
splicing involves using localized heat to melt or fuse the ends of two
optical fibers together. The splicing process begins by preparing each fiber
end for fusion. Fusion splicing requires that all protective coatings be
removed from the ends of each fiber. The fiber is then cleaved using the
score-and-break method. The quality of each fiber end is inspected using a
microscope. In fusion splicing, splice loss is a direct function of the angles
and quality of the two fiber-end faces.
The basic fusion splicing apparatus
consists of two fixtures on which the fibers are mounted and two electrodes.
Figure 4-13 shows a basic fusion-splicing apparatus. An inspection microscope
assists in the placement of the prepared fiber ends into a fusion
splicer. The fibers are placed into the fusion splicer, aligned, and then
fused together. Initially, fusion splicing used nichrome wire as the heating
element to melt or fuse fibers together. New fusion-splicing techniques have
replaced the nichrome wire with carbon dioxide (CO2) lasers, electric arcs, or
gas flames to heat the fiber ends, causing them to fuse together.