Patent · US Expired

Method of fabricating an optical attenuator by fusion splicing of optical fibers

US4557556A · kind A · utility

31Cited by
5References
7Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateOct 28, 1983
Grant dateDec 10, 1985
Priority date—
Expiry dateOct 28, 2003

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG02B6/2551
  • WIPO fieldOptics
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

An advantageous method for fabricating an optical attenuator between the ends of two optical fibers uses the following steps. The axes of the cores of optical fiber ends are misaligned by an offset distance and then one of them is moved along its center axis until the ends of the fibers abut one another. Abutted ends of the optical fibers are melted. While the fiber ends are molten, surface tension aligns the axes of the cores of the optical fibers. Finally the abutted ends region of the optical fibers is cooled into a lumped optical attenuator.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.