Arc fusion splicing of photonic crystal fibers to standard single mode fibers

Krzysztof Borzycki; Jens Kobelke; Kay Schuster; Jan Wójcik

doi:10.1117/12.853909

14 May 2010 Arc fusion splicing of photonic crystal fibers to standard single mode fibers

Krzysztof Borzycki, Jens Kobelke, Kay Schuster, Jan Wójcik

Proceedings Volume 7714, Photonic Crystal Fibers IV; 771414 (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.853909
Event: SPIE Photonics Europe, 2010, Brussels, Belgium

Abstract

Coupling a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) to measuring instruments or optical subsystems is often done by splicing it to short lengths of single mode fiber (SMF) used for interconnections, as SMF is standardized, widely available and compatible with most fiber optic components and measuring instruments. This paper presents procedures and results of loss measurements during fusion splicing of five PCFs tested at NIT laboratory within activities of COST Action 299 "FIDES". Investigated silica-based fibers had 80-200 μm cladding diameter and were designed as single mode. A standard splicing machine designed for telecom fibers was used, but splicing procedure and arc power were tailored to each PCF. Splice loss varied between 0.7 and 2.8 dB at 1550 nm. Splices protected with heat-shrinkable sleeves served well for gripping fibers during mechanical tests and survived temperature cycling from -30°C to +70°C with stable loss. Collapse of holes in the PCF was limited by reducing fusion time to 0.2-0.5 s; additional measures included reduction of discharge power and shifting SMF-PCF contact point away from the axis of electrodes. Unfortunately, short fusion time sometimes precluded proper smoothing of glass surface, leading to a trade-off between splice loss and strength.

Citation Download Citation

Krzysztof Borzycki, Jens Kobelke, Kay Schuster, and Jan Wójcik "Arc fusion splicing of photonic crystal fibers to standard single mode fibers", Proc. SPIE 7714, Photonic Crystal Fibers IV, 771414 (14 May 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.853909

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