Report: Lightwave splicing and connector technology

Abstract

The functions of splices and connectors are to interconnect the transmission media and to connect the media to optical devices. Splices are for the most part intended to stay permanently connected, although some designs offer the opportunity of separation and rejoining. Connectors, on the other hand, are designed for frequent separation and rejoining. Connectors may possibly require cleaning when rejoined, whereas splices require replacement of matching gels or adhesives and possibly repolishing. The most operationally significant system parameter of these components is optical loss. The loss is dependent on alignment of the fibers, the end conditions of the fibers, and the fiber-core parameters (primarily core diameter and peak index difference in multimode fibers and mode-field diameter in single-mode fibers). These fiber-core parameters are not under the control of the splice or connector design and will not be covered further here.