Method for fabricating single-mode and multimode fiber optic access couplers

Abstract

Abstract A method of coupling at least a pair of optical fibers together assures predictable coupling ratios and structural integrity. First, the fibers are prepared by coating or dispersing a material (e.g., a metal oxide) on or in them to control the surface tension of their exposed surfaces so that fusion occurs within predictable, extended periods of time. Next, the fibers are twisted together to assume a mutually helical relationship and to apply a small tensional stress on them and they are placed in an inert gas maintained at a predetermined pressure. A coaxially disposed tungsten coil heats them and fuses the twisted, stretched fibers together to effect a desired coupling. Stretching the twisted fibers as they are being fused together creates uniform tapered sections which are needed to induce proper coupling. The rate of heating and fusing, the inert gas and its pressure, and the force exerted during stretching are all factors determinative of the degree of coupling. These factors are more precisely regulatable due to the addition of the material such as metal oxide that controls the surface tension of the of the fibers to be coupled.

Inventors

• 👤 Theodore G. Pavlopoulos
• 👤 Daniel E. Altman

Bibliographic Details