Single Fiber Fusion Splicing

Splicing often is required to create a continuous optical path for transmission of optical pulses from one fiber length to another. The three basic fiber interconnection methods are: de-matable fiber-optic connectors, mechanical splices and fusion splices. De-matable connectors are used in applications where periodic mating and de-mating is required for maintenance, testing, repairs or reconfiguration of a system. The penalty for this flexibility is the larger physical size and higher cost, as well as higher losses of optical power (typically 0.2 to 1 dB) at the connector interface.