Arc-fusion splicing of single-mode fibers. 2: A practical splice machine.

A new splice machine for single-mode fiber has been developed. Alignment mechanisms are constructed for high-precision alignment of the core axis. Alignment precision of +/-0.1 microm is possible with a movable stroke of +/-10 microm, which enables low-loss splicing even for fibers with relatively large core eccentricity. An average 0.08-dB splice loss and 0.04-dB standard deviation were obtained in a laboratory experiment. A 76% splice loss probability of Delta0.1 dB was achieved. Effect of fiber end face inclination on splice loss was investigated experimentally and theoretically, and it was found that the experimental splice loss is explained by the loss due to end face inclination, core metamorphosis, and core axis misalignment.