Laser cleaving of glass fibers and glass fiber arrays |
| |
Authors: | Van Steenberge G. Geerinck P. Van Put S. Watte J. Ottevaere H. Thienpont H. Van Daele P. |
| |
Affiliation: | Dept. of Inf. Technol., Ghent Univ., Gent, Belgium; |
| |
Abstract: | An ultraviolet (UV)-excimer-laser-based cleaving procedure for silica fiber has been developed that enables automated cleaving for high-volume production of fiber-optic assemblies. A selective ablation of the glass in the form of a small rectangular cavity serves as a fracture initiator when the fiber is put under stress. The position of the UV-excimer-laser-induced scratch is very precise. The system provides high-quality cleaves on single-fiber and ribbon configurations. The end angle of the cleaved optical fiber is measured using a noncontact optical interferometer system and was 0.85/spl deg/ for perpendicular cleavages. Insertion loss after splicing is in the range of 0.03 dB, which is compatible with mechanical-cleaved fibers. |
| |
Keywords: | |
|
|