FOC

8th
Class:
25th August 2023
 5. Fiber Splices
• A fiber splice is a Permanent or Temporary low-loss
bond between two fibers, using either fusion
splicing or mechanical splicing.
• Most splices are permanent and typically are used
to create long optical links or in situations where
frequent connection and disconnection is not
needed.
 TEMPORARY/Semi-Permanent

• Temporary splices may be necessary or

convenient when one is making emergency
cable repairs or doing testing during
installation or troubleshooting.
 5.Splicing issues:

•physical /geometrical differences in the

two fibers,
•fiber misalignments at the joint,
•mechanical strength of the splice.
 Splicing Techniques
• Fusion splicing
• V-groove mechanical splicing
• Elastic tube splice

• First one permanent joint

• Remaining two can be disassembled if necessary
 FUSION SPLICING
• It is the process involving the thermal bonding of two
prepared fiber ends.

• The chemical changes during melting sometimes

produce a weak splice.Produce very low splice losses
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• Fusion splices are made by thermally bonding prepared
fiber ends
• In this method the fiber ends are first aligned then
butted together.
• This is done either in a grooved fiber holder or under a
microscope with a micromanipulator.
• The butt joint then is heated with an electric arc or a
laser pulse so that the fiber ends are melted
momentarily and hence bonded..
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• This technique produce very low splice losses 0.05-
0.1 dB.SM &MM
• Care must be taken in this technique, since defect
growth and residual stress induced near the bonded
joint can produce a weak splice.
• Bubbles arising from dirt –insufficient arc current
• modern automated splicers usually alleviate these
concerns
 V-groove splicing
• The prepared fiber ends are first butt together in a
V-shaped groove
• They are then bonded with an adhesive or held in
position
• The V-shaped channel is either grooved silicon,
plastic ceramic or metal substrate
• Splice loss depends strongly on the fiber size and
eccentricity
• (Position of core relative to center of fiber)
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 In mechanical splicing the assembly process involves
stripping and cleaving the fibers
• inserting them into a splice mechanism until they touch,
and then securing them in place.
• The securing process is done by either clamping the
fibers or gluing them to the splicing structure.
• To prevent light reflections within the splice, a special
gel that has a refractive index close to that of glass can
be injected into the space between the spliced fibers.
This material is referred to as index-matching gel.
•.
 Elastic Tube splicing
• Unique device, automatically performs lateral, longitudinal and
angular alignment
• It splices multimode fiber with losses in the range as commercial
fusion splice -Less equipment and skills are needed
• It consists of tube of an elastic material
• Internal hole is of smaller diameter as compared to the fiber and
is tapered at two ends for easy insertion of the fiber
• A wide range of fiber diameters can be spliced
• The fibers to be spliced might not be of the same diameter, still
its axial alignment will be maximum
• Hole diameter expanded-symmetrical force-accurate and
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6.Optical Fiber Connectors

• A connector is a joint that can be mated and

disconnected many times.
• A wide variety of optical fiber connectors are
available for different applications. Their uses
range from simple single-channel fiber-to-fiber
connectors in a benign location to rugged
multichannel connectors used underwater or for
harsh military field environments.
•
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 Requirements of a good connector
:
1.Coupling loss:
The connector assembly must maintain stringent alignment
tolerances to ensure low mating losses. The losses should be
around 2 to 5 percent (0.1 to 0.2 dB) and must not change
significantly during operation and after numerous connects
and disconnects.
2.Interchangeability:
Connectors of the same type must be compatible from one
manufacturer to another.
3.Ease of assembly:
A service technician should be able to install the connector in a field
environment, that is, in a location other than the connector
attachment factory. The connector loss should also be fairly
insensitive to the assembly skill of the technician.
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4.Low environmental sensitivity:
Conditions such as temperature, dust, and moisture
should have a small effect on connector loss variations .
5.Low cost and reliable construction:
The connector must have a precision suitable to the
application, but it must be reliable and its cost must not
be a major factor in the system.
6.Ease of connection:
Except for certain unique applications, one s hould be able to
mate and disconnect the connector simply and by hand.

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 Connector Types
•Connectors are available in designs that screw on, twist on, or snap in place. The twist-
on and snap-on designs are the ones used most commonly..

The basic coupling mechanisms used belong to either butt-joint

or the expanded-beam classes. The majority of connectors use
a butt-joint coupling mechanism.

Butt-joint connector:
•..
•The key components are a long, thin stainless steel, glass,
ceramic, or plastic cylinder, known as a ferrule, and a precision
sleeve into which the ferrule fits. This sleeve is known variably as
an alignment sleeve, an adapter, or a coupling receptacle.
The center of the ferrule has a hole that precisely matches the size
of the fiber cladding diameter.
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 Two Popular-connector types
Butt Joint

• Both MM and SM fibers

• 1.Straight sleeve
• 2.Tapered sleeve or bio-conical
mechanism.
Example ferrules inserted into alignment sleeves for precision alignment of two fibers:
(a) straight sleeve and (b) tapered sleeve.

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• Butt joint connectors employ a metal ,
ceramic or molded plastic ferrule for each
fiber and a precision sleeve into which the
ferrule fit.
• The fiber is epoxied into a precision hole
which has been drilled into th ferrule.
 KEY COMPONENTS-Butt Joint
• 1.Long, thin, steel/glass/ceramic/plastic cylinder-Ferrule
• 2.Precise Alignment sleeve into which ferrule fits
• 3.sleeve-alignment sleeve-adapter-coupling receptacle
• 4.hole at the center of ferrule
• 5.hole size around 125 um.
• 6.fiber is secured in the hole with epoxy.
• 95% connectors ferrule are with ceramic –desirable
properties like low insertion loss-mech strength –small
elasticity coefficient etc.
• Both ends ferrule structure
Typically, the hole size is 125.0 μm.
• The fiber is secured in the hole with epoxy, and the
end of the ferrule is polished flat to a smooth finish.
• The mechanical challenges in fabricating a ferrule
include maintaining both the dimensions of the
hole diameter and the position of the hole relative
to the ferrule outer surface.

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EXPANDED BEAM CONNECTOR

Employs lenses on the end of the fiber.

These lenses either collimate the light emerging from the
transmitting fiber, or focus the expanded beam onto the
core of the receiving fiber.

Optical processing elements, such as beam

splitters and switches, can easily be inserted
into the expanded beam between the fiber ends.

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 EXPANDED BEAM CONNECTOR
• Expanded beam connector employs lenses on the end of the
fibers.
• The lenses collimate the light emerging from the transmitting
fiber and focuses the beam on the receiving fiber
• The fiber to lens distance is equal to the focal length
• As the beam is collimated so even a separation between the
fibers will not make a difference
• Connector is less dependent on the lateral alignment
• Beam splitters or switches can be inserted between the fibers

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Optical Connector Types
There are numerous connector styles and configurations.
The main ones are ST, SC, FC, LC, MU, MT-RJ, MPO, and
variations on MPO.

ST ST is derived from the words straight tip, which refers to the

ferrule configuration.

SC SC mean subscriber connector or square connector,

although now the connectors are not known by those names.

FC A connector designed specifically for Fibre Channel applications

was designated by the letters FC.

LC Since Lucent developed a specific connector type, they obviously

nicknamed it the LC connector.

MU The letters MU were selected to indicate a miniature unit.

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Optical Connector Types

MT-RJ The designation MT-RJ is an acronym for media

termination—recommended jack.

MPO The letters MPO were selected to indicate a multiple-fiber,

push-on/pull-off connecting function.

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ST connector SC connector

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FC connector LC connector

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MU

MT-RJ

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MPO