Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for fusion-splicing polarization maintaining optical fibers

US6702481B2 · kind B2 · utility

6Cited by
2References
19Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateApr 4, 2002
Grant dateMar 9, 2004
Priority date
Expiry dateJul 25, 2022

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG02B6/105
  • WIPO fieldOptics
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

Each of optical fibers has a core and stress applying members disposed around the core. End portions of the optical fibers are mounted on a fusion-splicing apparatus, and aligned through the image observation from two different lateral directions of the optical fibers. Then, a distance between positions of a bright portion end and a luminance peak closest to the bright portion end is obtained on each bright portion end of a luminance distribution of the optical fiber obtained from at least one picked-up image. The optical fibers are fusion-spliced by aligning the stress applying members so that the sum of the distances is adjusted to be minimum. Alternatively, a distance between positions of the luminance peaks respectively closest to the respective bright portion ends is obtained and the optical fibers are fusion-spliced by aligning the stress applying members so that the distance is adjusted to be maximum.

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