3SAE, Ericsson Enhance Splicer

FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- Optical fibers of greater than 300 micron cladding diameter are commonly used in the production of high powered fiber lasers for Military & Aerospace applications. The current variety of fiber optic arc fusion splicers available in the market are unable to automatically align and splice fibers that are larger than 300 microns. The current manual splicing method is extremely operator dependent which does not consistently provide the lowest optimum splice loss. Ericsson and 3SAE Technologies have created an automated software solution for splicing large fibers in the Ericsson FSU 995 series fusion splicer. This FSU 995 Auto Alignment Software has been tested with fibers up to 600um in size with excellent splice results. The software is compatible with Win98, Win2000 and WinXP. Currently, the Auto Alignment software package is configured to communicate through a GPIB interface to an Agilent detector connected to a laser source via fiber. Other detector brands can easily be added as necessary.

Another issue that surrounds the use of large diameter fibers with the production of fiber lasers is the need to strip, clean, and cleave with extremely high quality resulting in superior fiber tensile strength. Two current methods are to use mechanical stripping blades which can scratch or nick the fiber or to use hazardous hot sulfuric acid which removes the fiber coating. 3SAE has developed a new method that accomplishes the difficult and potentially hazardous task of removing a section of the fiber's coating without causing any damage or leaving residue on the fiber. 3SAE’s patented Burst technology method eliminates the need for dangerous hot acid baths or mechanical stripping blades to strip and clean optical fibers at very high strength (approximately 700Kpsi). By directing a super heated volume of air at the acrylate coating, it is instantly vaporized leaving the fiber perfectly stripped and cleaned. Cleaving fiber of this size (greater than 300 microns) is now available through the new FK 11-LDF cleaver. This new cleaver was designed for fiber with up to 400 micron glass. It produces flat, clean, low angle cleaves every time. This means lower loss, higher strength fusion splices, optimum performance of packaged devices and consistent results in measurement systems. These new product enhancements are the direct result of input from several fiber laser manufacturers.

3SAE Technologies Inc.

LM Ericsson