Do you know how fibers are joined together to pass information? One of the methods is splicing. Let us discuss it:

Splicers: Splicers are the permanent joints between two or more fibers.

Splicing: Splicing is the technique to join the fibers.

These are used to extend the length of the fiber or repair the damaged fibers. The two common types of splicing are:

1. Fusion splicing: have you seen the welding done to join the iron? Fusion splicing is just the same. In this case, the fibers are made bare by removing the jacket/sheath. The fiber ends are then placed on adjustable vernier screws. The fiber ends are then aligned using these screws to high degree of accuracy. The fiber ends are then brought closer and using a micro electric arc lamp. The ends are then melt and then fused or joined by this method. The condition of the fibers is that they should have the same refractive index of the core.

2. Mechanical splicing: In this technique, splicing of fiber is done by mechanically.

a) V – groove splicing: In this method, the bared fibers are placed in a V- shape structure called V – groove. The two fibers are slide into the V- groove until they touch each other. The joint is made permanent by a sticky substance called epoxy resin. The epoxy resin should have same refractive index as the core of the two fibers.

b) Precision sleeve splicing: In this type, the bared fibers are placed into the glass sleeve whose inner diameter is slightly loose than diameter of the bared fibers. The fiber ends are then joined permanently by putting a sticky substance called epoxy resin through a hole in the middle of the fiber. The epoxy resin should have same refractive index as the core of the two fibers.