EP0144136A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Method for fabricating an optical attenuator by fusion splicing of optical fibres
Assignee: AT&T Inc
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Filing: 1984-10-19
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2004-10-19
Abstract
Abstract The axes of the cores of optical fiber ends (11, 12) are misaligned by an offset distance (d) and then one of them is moved along its center axis until the ends of the fibers abut one another. Abutted ends of the optical fibers are melted. While the fiber ends are molten, surface tension aligns the axes of the cores of the optical fibers. Finally the abutted ends region of the optical fibers is cooled.
Inventors
- 👤 George Albert Decker, Jr.
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-10 01:30
CPC Classifications
G; G02; G02B; G02B6/00; G02B6/24; G02B6/26; G02B6/264; G02B6/266; G02B6/255; G02B6/2551
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 7
Claim 1
Independent Claim
71 words
Method for fabricating a lumped optical attenuator, CHARACTERIZED BY offsetting the axes of the cores of a pair of optical fiber ends, moving the optical fiber ends along their center axes until they abut one another, melting the abutted ends of the optical fibers into a splice, aligning the axes of the cores of the optical fibers by way of surface tension, and cooling the abutted ends of the optical fibers.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
71 words
Method for fabricating a lumped optical attenuator, CHARACTERIZED BY offsetting the axes of the cores of a pair of optical fiber ends, moving the optical fiber ends along their center axes until they abut one another, melting the abutted ends of the optical fibers into a splice, aligning the axes of the cores of the optical fibers by way of surface tension, and cooling the abutted ends of the optical fibers.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
36 words
Method according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT after abutting during the optical fiber end moving step, one fiber end is moved through a stroke length 1 within a range of 2 µm to 100 µm.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
48 words
Method according to claim 1 or 2, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT during the axes offsetting step, the axes of the cores are separated by an offset distance d in a range of one-half of the diameter of the core to one-half of the diameter of the cladding optical fibers.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
44 words
Method according with to claim 1 or 2, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT during the axes offsetting step, the axes of the cores are separated by an offset distance d equal to approximately two-fifths of the outside diameter of the cladding of the optical fiber ends.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
35 words
Method according to any one of the preceding claims, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT after abutting during the optical fiber end moving step, one fiber end is moved through a stroke length 1 of approximately 4 µm.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
41 words
Method according to anyone of the preceding claims, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT the melting of the abutted ends and the aligning of the cores of the axes occur during a dwell time t in a range of 10 seconds to 30 seconds.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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