Stripping (fiber)

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An optical fiber stripper Optical fiber stripper pg eti 2007.jpg
An optical fiber stripper

Stripping is the act of removing the protective polymer coating around optical fiber in preparation for fusion splicing. [1] The splicing process begins by preparing both fiber ends for fusion, which requires that all protective coating is removed or stripped from the ends of each fiber. Fiber optical stripping can be done using a special stripping and preparation unit that uses hot sulphuric acid or a controlled flow of hot air to remove the coating. There are also mechanical tools used for stripping fiber which are similar to copper wire strippers. Fiber optical stripping and preparation equipment used in fusion splicing is commercially available through a small number of specialized companies, which usually also design machines used for fiber optical recoating.

A coating is a covering that is applied to the surface of an object, usually referred to as the substrate. The purpose of applying the coating may be decorative, functional, or both. The coating itself may be an all-over coating, completely covering the substrate, or it may only cover parts of the substrate. An example of all of these types of coating is a product label on many drinks bottles- one side has an all-over functional coating and the other side has one or more decorative coatings in an appropriate pattern to form the words and images.

Optical fiber light-conducting fiber

An optical fiber is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber and find wide usage in fiber-optic communications, where they permit transmission over longer distances and at higher bandwidths than electrical cables. Fibers are used instead of metal wires because signals travel along them with less loss; in addition, fibers are immune to electromagnetic interference, a problem from which metal wires suffer excessively. Fibers are also used for illumination and imaging, and are often wrapped in bundles so they may be used to carry light into, or images out of confined spaces, as in the case of a fiberscope. Specially designed fibers are also used for a variety of other applications, some of them being fiber optic sensors and fiber lasers.

Fusion splicing

Fusion splicing is the act of joining two optical fibers end-to-end.The goal is to fuse the two fibers together in such a way that light passing through the fibers is not scattered or reflected back by the splice, and so that the splice and the region surrounding it are almost as strong as the intact fiber. The source of heat is usually an electric arc, but can also be a laser, or a gas flame, or a tungsten filament through which current is passed.

See also

Optical communication communication at a distance using light to carry information

Optical communication, also known as optical telecommunication, is communication at a distance using light to carry information. It can be performed visually or by using electronic devices. The earliest basic forms of optical communication date back several millennia, while the earliest electrical device created to do so was the photophone, invented in 1880.

Cleave (fiber)

A cleave in an optical fiber is a deliberate, controlled break, intended to create a perfectly flat endface, perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the fiber. The process of cleaving an optical fiber forms one of the steps in the preparation for a fiber splice operation regardless of the subsequent splice being a fusion splice or a mechanical splice; the other steps in the preparation being those of stripping and fiber alignment. A good cleave is required for a successful low loss splice of an optical fiber, often it is the case that fibers spliced by identical methods tend to have different losses, this difference can often be attributed to the quality of their initial cleaves.

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Splice may refer to:

Ropework set of processes used to make, repair, and use rope

Ropework or marlinespike seamanship are traditional umbrella terms for a skillset spanning the use, maintenance, and repair of rope. Included are tying knots, splicing, making lashings, whippings, and proper use and storage of rope.

Fiberscope

A fiberscope is a flexible optical fiber bundle with an eyepiece on one end and a lens on the other that is used to examine and inspect small, difficult-to-reach places such as the insides of machines, locks, and the human body.

Strip or Stripping may refer to:

A mechanical splice is a junction of two or more optical fibers that are aligned and held in place by a self-contained assembly. The fibers are not permanently joined, just precisely held together so that light can pass from one to another.

Patch cable cable used to connect one electronic or optical device to another

A patch cable, patch cord or patch lead is an electrical or optical cable used to connect one electronic or optical device to another for signal routing. Devices of different types are connected with patch cords. Patch cords are usually produced in many different colors so as to be easily distinguishable, and are relatively short, perhaps no longer than two metres. Types of patch cords include microphone cables, headphone extension cables, XLR connector, Tiny Telephone (TT) connector, RCA connector and ¼" TRS phone connector cables, and thicker, hose-like cords used to carry video or amplified signals. However, patch cords typically refer only to short cords used with patch panels.

Powder coating is a type of coating that is applied as a free-flowing, dry powder. The main difference between a conventional liquid paint and a powder coating is that the powder coating does not require a solvent to keep the binder and filler parts in a liquid suspension form. The coating is typically applied electrostatically and is then cured under heat to allow it to flow and form a "skin". The powder may be a thermoplastic or a thermoset polymer. It is usually used to create a hard finish that is tougher than conventional paint. Powder coating is mainly used for coating of metals, such as household appliances, aluminium extrusions, drum hardware and automobile and bicycle parts. Newer technologies allow other materials, such as MDF, to be powder coated using different methods. The powder coating process was invented around 1945 by Daniel Gustin US Patent 2538562.

Fiber Bragg grating

A fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is a type of distributed Bragg reflector constructed in a short segment of optical fiber that reflects particular wavelengths of light and transmits all others. This is achieved by creating a periodic variation in the refractive index of the fiber core, which generates a wavelength-specific dielectric mirror. A fiber Bragg grating can therefore be used as an inline optical filter to block certain wavelengths, or as a wavelength-specific reflector.

Fusion bonded epoxy coating, also known as fusion-bond epoxy powder coating and commonly referred to as FBE coating, is an epoxy-based powder coating that is widely used to protect steel pipe used in pipeline construction, concrete reinforcing bars (rebar) and on a wide variety of piping connections, valves etc. from corrosion. FBE coatings are thermoset polymer coatings. They come under the category of protective coatings in paints and coating nomenclature. The name fusion-bond epoxy is due to resin cross-linking and the application method, which is different from a conventional paint. The resin and hardener components in the dry powder FBE stock remain unreacted at normal storage conditions. At typical coating application temperatures, usually in the range of 180 to 250 °C, the contents of the powder melt and transform to a liquid form. The liquid FBE film wets and flows onto the steel surface on which it is applied, and soon becomes a solid coating by chemical cross-linking, assisted by heat. This process is known as “fusion bonding”. The chemical cross-linking reaction taking place in this case is irreversible. Once the curing takes place, the coating cannot be returned to its original form by any means. Application of further heating will not “melt” the coating and thus it is known as a “thermoset” coating.

Fiber-optic communication method of transmitting information from one place to another by sending pulses of light through an optical fiber

Fiber-optic communication is a method of transmitting information from one place to another by sending pulses of light through an optical fiber. The light forms an electromagnetic carrier wave that is modulated to carry information. Fiber is preferred over electrical cabling when high bandwidth, long distance, or immunity to electromagnetic interference are required.

Optical fiber cable cable assembly containing one or more optical fibers that are used to carry light

An optical fiber cable, also known as a fiber optic cable, is an assembly similar to an electrical cable, but containing one or more optical fibers that are used to carry light. The optical fiber elements are typically individually coated with plastic layers and contained in a protective tube suitable for the environment where the cable will be deployed. Different types of cable are used for different applications, for example long distance telecommunication, or providing a high-speed data connection between different parts of a building.

Fiber cable termination is the addition of connectors to each optical fiber in a cable. The fibers need to have connectors fitted before they can attach to other equipment. Two common solutions for fiber cable termination are pigtails and fanout kits or breakout kits.

Nyfors Teknologi AB is a high-end supplier of advanced optical fiber handling equipment, based in Stockholm, Sweden. The company develops and manufactures equipment used in optical fiber fusion splicing, including products for stripping and preparation, testing and analysing and fiber end-face inspection, but is most well known for its automated optical fiber recoating and fiber cleaving systems. Nyfors products are sold internationally to customers within a wide range of industrial sectors and to public and private research institutions.

Recoating is the process of restoring the primary coating to stripped optical fiber sections after fusion splicing. In the recoating process, the spliced fiber is restored to its original shape and strength, using a recoater. The stripped fiber section is recoated by filling a recoating resin, usually acrylate into transparent moulds. The resin is then cured with UV light. It is often desirable to perform a proof-test after recoating, to ensure that the splice is strong enough to survive handling, packaging and extended use.

A fiber optic splitter, also known as a beam splitter, is based on a quartz substrate of an integrated waveguide optical power distribution device, similar to a coaxial cable transmission system. The optical network system uses an optical signal coupled to the branch distribution. The fiber optic splitter is one of the most important passive devices in the optical fiber link. It is an optical fiber tandem device with many input and output terminals, especially applicable to a passive optical network to connect the MDF and the terminal equipment and to branch the optical signal.

Husk

Husk in botany is the outer shell or coating of a seed. It often refers to the leafy outer covering of an ear of maize (corn) as it grows on the plant. Literally, a husk or hull includes the protective outer covering of a seed, fruit, or vegetable. It can also refer to the exuvia of bugs or small animals left behind after moulting.

A line splice is a special type of connection of electrical cables or optical fibers in telecommunication technology.

References

  1. Yablon, Andrew D. (2005). Optical Fiber Fusion Splicing. Berlin: Springer.