Splicers

Rekha .V. Tranquebar

e-mail: rvt@buffalo.edu
definitions
 Splicer
mechanical device for joining two pieces of paper
or film or magnetic tape
 Splice

joint made by overlapping two ends and joining

them
 Splicing

process of the permanent connection of two pieces

of optical fibres
scope
 Types of splicing
 Splicing procedure
 Losses
 Comparison
 Manufacturers
 Cost
types of splicing
 Mechanical
 Fusion (welding)
scribe & break
End preparation
 Striping (cable jacket, buffer tube &
coating)
 Cleaving
 Cleaning the end surface
 mechanical splicing
 bonding two fibers
together in an
alignment structure
 Transparent adhesive

- e.g. epoxy resin

 Commonly used
groove
- V-groove
 Alignment problems
fusion splicing
 Fusing the two fibers

 Flame heating sources

- micro-plasma burners, oxy-
hydric micro-burners, electric
arc..

 Advantage
- consistent and easily controlled
heat with adaptability

 Possible drawback
- weakening of fiber in the vicinity
of splice
splice tray
 Stores and organizes the fiber & splice
 Protects fibers
 Prevents fibers from exceeding the
minimum bending radius
 Establishes long haul links
 comparison

Mechanical splicing Fusion splicing

Reflection losses No reflection losses

(-45 db to -55 db)
Insertion loss Very low insertion loss
(0.2 db) (0.1 db to .15 db)
cost – high Comparatively less
splicing losses
 Intrinsic
- Freznel reflection
 Extrinsic

- foreign particles on surfaces

 Reflection

- incident and reflected beam travel on the

same path
what do we achieve by splicing?
 Clear
 Better appearance
 Greater strength
fusion splicer

FSM-16S

manufacturer : Fujikura
specifications
 Applicable fiber
 No. of fibers applied
 Splice loss
 Return loss
 Cleaved fiber length
 Magnification of fibre
 Viewing method
 Splice loss estimtion
 Splice result storage
 Mechanical proof test
 Power supply
 Dimensions
 Weight
manufacturers
 Fujikura
“the market leader”
 65% of fusion splicers are manufactured
 $3000 million annual turnover
 Training
www.fujikura.co.uk
 Ericsson
 internships

www.ericsson.com
 Fitel
www.fitel.com
 Sumitomo
highest cost
 Fujikura
$ 34,450
 Ericsson

$7,995
 Fitel

$6,600
summary
 Fusion and mechanical splicing
 Splicing procedure
 Comparison
 Manufacturers
 Cost
references
Optical Fiber Communications
Principles and practice
- John.M.Senior
Fiber Optic Communications
- Joseph.C.Palais
www.fujikura.co.uk
www.eurobility.com/news
www.tecratools.com
www.hyperdictionary.com
www.ieee.org
www.google.com
questions?