Hello, everyone!
Today, I want to explain fusion splicing. This is a very important topic because this is the most common way of connecting optical fibers. This article is an introduction to the fusion splicing process.
Fusion splicing is the process of connecting optical fibers using an electric arc (figure 1). This type of connection between two optical fibers is the most reliable, has the least attenuation, and has no reflection. This is the most common way to connect optical fibers in outdoor applications.
Fusion splicing is a process that requires technicians who have been trained in fusion splicing. Technicians must know all the necessary tools and the complete process of fiber optic preparation and splicing.
Figure 1. Fusion splicing
Fusion splicing is a process that is usually performed on single mode fibers, less often on multimode fibers. This connection process is usually performed on one optical fiber at a time, but there are also situations when multiple optical fibers are spliced at the same time (e.g. with ribbon cables).
For the fusion splicing process, a special device called a fusion splicer is required. In addition, it is assumed that the fibers are prepared for splicing.
A fusion splicer is a device that automatically splices optical fibers. It is necessary to use the default settings on the device or even better to enter the necessary parameters.
The preparation of optical fiber (which I will write about in detail in the following articles) consists of removing the protection of the optical cable and optical fiber and cleaning and cutting the optical fiber. In figure 2, we can see the main equipment for splicing – fusion splicer, optical cleaver and fiber stripper.
Figure 2. The main equipment for fusion splicing
All of this is very important as you get a quality fusion splice. The optical fiber thus prepared is introduced into a fusion splicer. It performs optical fiber positioning, using two methods:
Optical Core or Profile Alignment Systems (PAS), and
Local Injection and Detection (LID System).
This is the end of this article. I will continue to write about this topic in the next article >> Fusion splicing (2).
Thank you!
