Dar es Salaam institute of Technology (DIT)

ETCT 06104

Optic Fibre Network

Ally, J
ICT Professional (Radio Frequency Communication)
Huawei Certified Academy Instructor (Routing and
Switching, Cloud Computing, Storage, and 5G)

jumannea@gmail.com

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Optical Fibre Splicing

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 Splice
 Permanent connection between two fibres

 Involves cutting of the edges of the two fibres

to be spliced

 Alignment of the cores of the fibres to be

connected is important to reduce splice loss

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 Splicing Methods
 Single Fiber Mechanical splicing

 Adhesive bonding or Glue splicing

 Temp. Mechanical splicing

 Fusion Splicing

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 Single Fiber Mechanical Splicing
 Single Fiber Capillary
 Aligns two fiber ends to a common centre line, thereby
aligning cores
 Clean, cleaved fibers are butted together and index
matched
 Permanently secured with epoxy or adhesive.

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 Adhesive Bonding or Glue Splicing
 Oldest splicing technique

 A two component epoxy or an UV curable

adhesive is used as the bonding agent.

 Not reliable as fusion splicing technique and

hence rarely used

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 Mechanical Splicing
 Mainly used for temporary splicing in case of
emergency repairing
 Also convenient to connect measuring
instruments to bare fibers for taking various
measurements
 Consist of 4 basic components
 An alignment surface for connecting fiber ends
 A retainer
 An index matching material
 A protective housing

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Mechanical Splicing

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Mechanical Splicing

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Mechanical Splicing

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Mechanical Splicing

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 Fusion Splicing
 Most popular splicing technique
 Achieved either through electrical arc or through gas
flame.
 Splicing loss can be minimized as low as 0.01 dB/joint.
 Splice joint needs mechanical protection and protection
from moisture. For this epoxy resin (used for coatings,
adhesives and foam) coating and heat shrinkable tube
are used.
 Suitable for SMF for use in long haul network
 The splice loss indicated by the splicing machine is only
an estimated loss.
 After every splicing is over, the splice loss measurement
is to be taken by an OTDR
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Splicing Machine

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 Loading of Single Mode Fiber in
Splicing Closure
There are two types of closures

 Underground application,
- SC–4 splicing closure supplied by SEICOR
USA

 Equipment room
- Wall Splicing Closure (WSC).

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 Jointing Process
The process
 Cable Sheath Removal.

 Splicing Closure Preparation (WSC & SC4).

 Fiber strip and splicing (using splicing

machine by fusion process).

 Splicing–tray loading.

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 Preparation of Pig Tails
 Pigtails are used for termination of cables in
equipment room.
 The cable is coming to WSC in equipment room
and from WSC to fiber distribution panel (FDP) the
pig tail cables are brought
 The number of pig tail cables is equal to the number
of fibers in the fiber cable.
 Precautions to be observed in Preparation of
Pigtails :
 Ensure that the pigtails are of equal length.

 Ensure that pigtails are numbered correctly.

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 Loading of Splice Trays
The following steps are followed for
field splicing:
 Remove 150 cms of buffer tubes.

 Clean the fibers.

 Load the buffer tubes in the tray.

 Place the fibers in the tray.

 Close the trays.

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 Terminations at WSC
The following steps are followed for termination :
 Remove the buffer tube.

 Clean the fibers.

 Load the buffer tubes.

 Place the fibers in the tray.

 Load the Pigtails.

 Place the Pigtails in the tray.

 Close the tray.

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 Precautions (1/4)
Site Preparation :
 Careful site preparation for a reliable fusion splice

 Control on dust, precipitation, high wind and

corrosive atmospheres to avoid problems with fiber
alignment and contamination
Minimizing Contamination :
 Once the fiber is stripped, cleaved and cleaned,
speed is essential to minimize contamination related
problem
 Contamination on bare fiber surface during the arc
fusion step may increase splice loss, reduce splice
tensile strength or both

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 Precautions (2/4)
Cable Preparation :
 Cable preparation and handling procedures
should be as per recommendations of the cable
manufacturer.
 Recommendations by the cable manufacturer
will be different for different cables.
 Individual fiber lengths should be sufficiently
available so that the fibers after splicing can be
kept without sharp bends or kinks.
 Some excess fiber length should be available for
re-splicing, if required

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 Precautions (3/4)
Fiber Preparation :
 Avoid damaging the surface of the fiber when
mechanically or thermally stripping fibers
 Use of proper sized stripping tool

 No more than two inches of the coating should

be stripped at one time to avoid damage to the
glass
 Use of chemicals for stripping fibers not
preferable
 Fibers exposed to the chemical solvent must be
thoroughly cleaned after stripping

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 Precautions (4/4)
 Any acrylic coating residue that remains after stripping
should be removed from the bare fiber surface
 Minimum handling of cleaned fibers until completion of the
splice to minimize contamination
 Complete the splicing process as quickly as possible, since
delay will expose the fiber to additional airborne
contaminants
 Proper fiber end preparation to obtain a acceptable fusion
splice
 All loose fiber pieces should be controlled and properly
disposed of.
 Fusion splicing involves a high-voltage electric arc, and
should not be attempted in explosive environments

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 Thanks!

Technology changes but communication lasts.

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