EPOXY-FREE PLASTIC OPTICAL FIBER SPLICE DESIGN AND FABRICATION PROCESS

摘要

An epoxy-free, high-durability and low-cost plastic optical fiber splice design and fabrication process which meets commercial airplane environmental requirements. The splice design (10): (1) does not require the use of epoxy to join the end faces of two plastic optical fibers (4a,b) together; (2) incorporates double-crimp rings (16a,b) to provide highly durable pull force for the plastic optical fibers (4a,b) that are joined together; (3) resolves any vibration problem at the plastic optical fiber end faces using a miniature stop (32) inside a splice alignment sleeve (12); and (4) incorporates a splice alignment sleeve (12) that can be mass produced using precision molding or three-dimensional printing processes.