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Fusion splicing joins two optical fibers end-to-end by heating and fusing them together. Special tools and methods are used to avoid damage, and the fibers are stripped, cut, inspected, aligned, and fused together. Protection is then added to the splice using a chemical protectant or fiber optic splice protector.
Fusion splicing is a term that comes from the optical fiber communications industry. It refers to the process of joining, or splicing, two optical fibers end-to-end. The fibers are heated to the point that the ends soften and fuse, thus giving the process its name.
While the definition of fusion splicing is a very basic explanation of the process, the actual process is slightly more complex. Fiber optic communications are based on the transfer of light along the entire length of the fiber optic cable and its fibers. If fusion splicing is done improperly, it can prevent the transfer of light into the optical fiber, thereby limiting the usefulness of the fiber or rendering it unusable.
To avoid damage to sensitive optical fibers during the fusion splicing process, special tools, heat sources, and methods are used in the termination and splicing of optical fibers. The fusion splicing process begins with stripping the optical fibers. Stripping refers to the removal of protective coatings from the optical fiber to ensure that the splice is not contaminated by these protective coatings.
After removing the coating, the next step in fusion splicing is cutting the optical fiber. The purpose of optical fiber splitting is to obtain perfectly flat ends that can be spliced together. Splitting the optical fiber should leave an end surface completely perpendicular to the axis of the fibers to ensure proper splicing.
The two stripped and cut fibers are then inspected under magnification in the fusion splicing apparatus to ensure the quality of the separation and to align the end faces of the optical fibers for splicing. After these optical fibers are aligned, they are heated and fused together. In most cases, the heat source used for fusion splicing is an electric arc, but lasers, gas flames, and heated tungsten filaments also provide an adequate heat source for the fusion process.
After the fusion splicing process, the optical fibers will require some form of protection. Options for protecting a fusion splice include overcoating it with a chemical protectant or using a fiber optic splice protector. Overcoating is done using a resin that is cured by ultraviolet (UV) light, and this is usually the preferred method of protecting fusion joints as it restores the fiber to its pre-spliced condition.
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