Hello, everyone!
Today, I want to continue to explain a new topic – ODN engineering and maintenance. Now, I will continue to explain ODN engineering. Today, the topic is fusion splicer.
As I said, in one of the previous articles, optical fiber can be connected in three ways: fusion splicing, mechanical splicing, and optical connectors. Fusion splice is the most common form of connectivity when it comes to outdoor applications. It is also the most reliable way of connecting optical fibers, and in addition, it has the least attenuation and no reflection. On the other hand, the mechanical splice is not reliable, has greater attenuation, and has reflection. It is used in cases when a minor accident needs to be repaired urgently - for example, one or two fibers. Or when you need to connect fiber optics without a splicer. Over time, mechanical splices deteriorate, and the attenuation increases. Therefore, it should be avoided. By the way, in both fusion splicing and mechanical splicing, the method of preparation of optical fibers is the same. When it comes to optical connectors, they are used in both indoor and outdoor applications. They have greater attenuation and reflection. They are used where measurement, testing, etc. are needed.
A good fusion splice has an attenuation of 0.01 dB and tolerance of up to 0.1 dB. A fusion splicer is used for fusion splicing. After the optical fibers are prepared for fusion splicing, they are introduced into the splicer and placed on the holders. This is where the optical fibers are fixed. The next steps are done by the machine itself, automatically. First, the quality of optical fiber processing is checked, then 3D positioning of optical fibers is performed with the help of a motor. After the optical fibers are positioned, an electric arc appears on the electrodes with a voltage of several kV. This merges the optical fibers and provides a permanent connection. The machine then performs a joint attenuation assessment and checks the joint stiffness. After that, a splice protector is placed at the joint and introduced into the heater. This provides splice protection.
This is the end of this article. I will continue to explain this topic in the next article >> ODN Engineering and Maintenance (22).
Thank you!
