Page 151 - Optical Communications Essentials

Connectors and Splices

Connectors and Splices 141

fiber connectors in a benign location to rugged multichannel connectors used
underwater or for harsh military field environments. Connectors are available
in designs that screw on, twist on, or snap in place. The twist-on and push-on
designs are the ones used most commonly. The designs include both single-
channel and multichannel assemblies for cable-to-cable and cable-to-circuit-
card connections.
Whereas a connector is a joint that can be mated and disconnected many
times, a fiber splice is a permanent or temporary low-loss bond between two
fibers. Such a bond can be made by either fusion splicing or mechanical splic-
ing. Various splicing instruments are available for this function. Most splices
are permanent and typically are used to create long optical links or in situations
where frequent connection and disconnection is not needed. Temporary splices
may be necessary or convenient when one is making emergency cable repairs or
doing testing during installation or troubleshooting.

Further Reading
1. G. Keiser, Optical Fiber Communications, 3d ed., McGraw-Hill, Burr Ridge, Ill., 2000, Chap. 5.
2. TIA/EIA-455-57B (FOTP-57B), Preparation and Examination of Optical Fiber Endface for
Testing Purposes, September 2000.
3. TIA/EIA-455-179 (FOTP-179), Inspection of Cleaved Fiber Endfaces by Interferometry, May 1988.
4. Bob Chomycz, Fiber Optic Installer’s Field Manual, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2000, Chap. 11,
“Splicing and termination.”
5. M. Kihara, S. Nagasawa, and T. Tanifuji, “Return loss characteristics of optical fiber connectors,”
J. Lightwave Tech., vol. 14, pp. 1986–1991, September 1996.

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