Fiber splicer

US7144165B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (Publ) · SE

Inventors

• Wei-Ping Huang · Spånga, SE
• Ellef Hersoug · Stockholm, SE
• Tomas Adeback · Söderhamn, SE

Key dates

• Filing date: Feb 26, 2003
• Grant date: Dec 5, 2006
• Expiry date: Feb 26, 2023

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G02B6/2551
• WIPO field: Optics
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

Optical fibers (1, 1′) are fusion spliced to each other by using a CO2 laser (109) having an emission wavelength of 9.3 microm. The heat absorption of the fibers is higher and the variation of the absorption for small deviations of the wavelength is smaller than at the conventional wavelength of 10.6 microm. As a result, less laser power is needed, the laser construction may be more compact and safety problems can easier be handled. The optical arrangement for the light beam of the CO2 laser includes deflecting and focusing the collimated laser beam (20) emitted by the laser using a mirror (10) having a curved surface of concave nearly paraboloid shape, the splice position (30) located at a small distance of the focus of the mirror and well outside the collimated beam.