A Detailed Reference Guide to Fiber Optics and Fusion Splicing

The technology of guiding light in a particular direction using reflection within elongated wires was first attempted in the 19th century and has come a long way since. With the widespread of telecommunication across the world, the traditional electric cables have given way to the widespread use of optical fiber cables. These cables are manufactured from silica or plastic (instead of the usual copper) into a very thin diameter (with thickness lesser than a human hair). Another difference is that traditional electrical cables transmitted electric currents, whereas fiber optics involves the transmission of light bundles from one end of the wire to the other.

The core of an optical fiber is usually made of glass and is surrounded by multiple layers of cladding, of which the first (just after the core) assists in reflecting (bending) of the light without any loss (which is why it is referred to as total internal reflection). Fiber optics have found widespread use in telecommunications, cable television and now for the internet. The primary reason for its popularity is that it can provide high transmission quality with minimal losses.

When you are working with optical fibers, one major issue you might face is in the quality of splicing of the cables. Splicing is required when the cables need be laid over long distances, making it necessary to join multiple cables together to attain the required distance. An electric arc is used to melt both ends of two cables after removing the outer jackets and polymer coating, and then joining the two melted ends together to get a longer cable. Let us examine this process of fusion splicing to see the important aspects into the detailed steps:

1. The alignment of the two fibers to be spliced and joined together needs to be perfect to the last micro millimeter. The fiber splicing machine keeps making minor adjustments to the position of both fibers so that there is not even a minute gap or misalignment, and the attenuation is zero.

2. The fusion splicing machines provided by reputed companies like https://www.pelorus.in have the provision for last minute cleaning of both ends of the fibers which would be fused together. Apart from the usual hand cleaning of the cables, the splicer generates a high-intensity spark to both ends which melts and burns off any remaining dust particles or moisture droplets.

3. The main spark is then generated which melts both the ends so that they can then be joined (fused) together. Care must be taken that only the glass core is melted, and the spark doesn’t burn off or melt the outer cladding.

4. Because fusion splicing is such an accuracy driven exercise, hence the quality of output should also be taken into account while comparing the fiber optic splicing machines in India. The machine you choose must provide an optical loss of less than 0.1 dB.

You can compare the machine specifications of good companies like Pelorus and others to see which gives you the best performance for a particular price point.

Pelorus offers COMWAY fusion Splicing machine with best in class specification. Visit www.pelorus.in for more details.