Specialty Optical Fibers Handbook

fractography are described later. Care must be taken that a simple cut is made

and that there is not extensive damage to the fiber surface.

24.5.3 Splicing

The joining of two sections of optical fiber can be done either mechanically or

by fusion splicing. In mechanical splicing, the ends of the two fibers are joined by

gluing them inside a sleeve or ferrule. While this technique is simple and rapid, it

is bulky and not particularly robust. For high-quality, high reliability work,

especially for undersea use, fusion splicing is often employed. Figure 24.24

illustrates some very early splicing work [62]. This shows the importance of

avoiding damaging