| Abstract |
Since its first installation in the 1970s, optical fiber technologies have gone through
tremendous developments. In the late decade, it became the spine of the world
telecommunications network, due to its proven performances such as high speed internet and
instant access on phone communications all over the world. Today, diverse service providers
have their own fiber optic network (internet, cable television, telephone...).
Since fiber optics don't present any electromagnetic interference, and insure low attenuation of
the signal through long distances and time, and since the fiber optics business is constantly
growing, reaching the terms of billions of dollars, the Telecommunication Standardization
Sector of the ITU (ITU-T) have developed several fiber optics standards.
One important aspect of optical fiber technologies is connections, and precisely splices, since
it is crucial to guarantee high quality loss-free connections along optical fiber networks, as
well as in the other applications of optical fiber such as optical measurement devices.
The thesis will be presenting an overview of the different characteristics of optical fiber
splicing, the different techniques that are used, with their respective advantages and
disadvantages, however our work will mainly focus on Optical Fiber Fusion Splicing.
The process of optical fiber fusion splicing allows creating a permanent welded joint that
guarantees high strength and low losses in the same time. In other words, fusion splices are
the paste that keeps the bricks together, that if we imagine the fiber optical network as a
house. Fusion splices are also reliable for decades, hence the lifetime of the optical network,
which makes them play a very important role in the network itself. |
