Splices and Connectors

Power loss is a main cause of concern in fiber optic communication. Major loss mechanisms are attenuation due to absorption and scattering, bending losses and dispersion losses. Power loss may occur if interconnection of fibers is not proper. Interconnectors are extensively used in fiber optic communication. It is used mainly at 3 places. First one is at the optical sources in the transmitter. Second one is at the optical detector in the receiver. Third one is at the intermediate points within a cable where two fibers are joined together. We can join two fibers using two techniques. First one which yields a permanent bond is known as splice technique. Second one which yields a demountable joint is known as connector technique. Extra care has to be taken during splicing and connecting since power loss depends on the parameters like input power distribution at the joint, geometrical and waveguide characteristics of two coupled fibers, misalignment between the fiber ends and joints, and the qualities of the fiber end faces. The different splicing techniques employed in optical fibers are fusion splice method, V-groove butt splice technique; elastic tube splice technique and loose tube splice technique.