Abstract

At some point in the future fiber distributed to the individual's home will be as common as the copper used presently. To complete the fiber loop to the home, an installer must be able to splice optical fibers as easily and reliably as he does the copper strand. There are many ways to splice fibers including fusion splicing and mechanical splicing using precision capillary tubes or a resilient center section to grip the fibers prior to fixing the fiber with an UV adhesive. The mechanical splice of the future must eliminate all polishing and the use of adhesives and expensive fixtures. The splice must be one-size-fits-all that accommodates single-mode and multimode fiber and all coating sizes (900 and 250 µm). Finally, the installer should have the option of tuning the splice or installing it blind. The purpose of this paper is to describe a new mechanical splice that requires an installer to carry only a stripper, simple cleaver, and alcohol wipe to install fiber optic splices. The installer will have the option of using an inexpensive fixture to install the splice, but it will not be required.

© 1990 Optical Society of America