Fusion splicing is a welded joint formed between two optical fibers. It is a permanent, low-loss, high strength joint with respect to other temporary joint like a mechanical splice. Fusion splicing plays an important role in the optical network.
The perfect fusion splicing procedure
The aim is to create a joint with minimum insertion loss yet with mechanical long-term dependability and mechanical strength that matches the fiber itself. The ideal procedure should be speedy, cheap and should not require costly equipment. But in reality, the procedure requires trade-offs among various requirements and applications. For instance, for undersea telecommunications, long-term dependability is the main intention behind fusion splicing.
The perfect fusion splicing procedure
The aim is to create a joint with minimum insertion loss yet with mechanical long-term dependability and mechanical strength that matches the fiber itself. The ideal procedure should be speedy, cheap and should not require costly equipment. But in reality, the procedure requires trade-offs among various requirements and applications. For instance, for undersea telecommunications, long-term dependability is the main intention behind fusion splicing.
There are other practices for interconnecting fibers like fiber optic connectors and mechanical splicing. With respect to these two, fusion splicing has various benefits as explained below.
1. Prevent dust and other pollutants from entering the optical path.
2. Can withstand very high temperature changes.
3. Permanent
4. Highest mechanical strength
5. Lowest back reflection
6. Lowest insertion loss
7. Very portable
Various splicing types
Fusion splicing ambiance and applications can be roughly divided into three types:
1. Laboratory splicing
2. Factory splicing
3. Field splicing
A good instance of use of fusion splicer is the requirement of undersea fiber cables abroad fiber dispersion ships. The instance of factory splicing can be the assembly of fiber optic passive equipments like WDM. An instance of laboratory splicing is done by researchers by maintaining the current industry standards.
Fiber fusion splicing and a spectrum analyzer involves concepts from various subjects including optical waveguide theory, material science, heat transfer, mechanical engineering, fluid mechanics and more. In case of optical fiber stripping, the fiber cable jacket is removed and then the fiber polymer coating is stripped with fiber optic strippers.
