Fiber Splicing

Splicing Unit
The splicing unit was obtained in December of 2009 from Ron Richards of Michigan State University. Originally it had been used to fuse small round fibers. Some of the equipment has been modified to accommodate the square fibers that will be fused in the unit.

Ferrules
The ferrules are made of quartz, and are V shaped so that they make a hollow square cross-section when mated. This is so the fiber fits between them snugly while it is being fused.

Fibers

 * Properties of polystyrene

Lamp

 * The lamp used in the fiber splicing unit is a 25 volt - 250 watt AV/Photo lamp.

Testing
These are the earliest attempts at splicing 2x2mm square fibers using modified equipment for the splicing unit. Each fiber pictured below had been heated at a different distance from the heat lamp, or for a different length of exposure to the lamp light. As can be seen in the images, there was a gap between the ferrules big enough for cladding or the polystyrene itself to leak through in each attempt. It would seem that the pressure put on the ferrules together, at their ends, is not enough, or the pressure does not translate to the center of the ferrules. Another option was that the ferrules were warping due to the heat from the lamp. Because quartz does not expand/contract much with heat, though, this was considered unlikely.