THL-FFS2000 – Fiber Stripper, Cleaner, Cleaver, Splicer, and Recoater for SM and MM Fiber – Base Unit
THL-FFS2000 – Fiber Stripper, Cleaner, Cleaver, Splicer, and Recoater for SM and MM Fiber – Base Unit
Features
- Fiber Coating Soaking Station
- Thermo-Mechanical Coating Stripping Station
- Ultrasonic Fiber Cleaning Station
- Fiber Cleaving Station Provides Flat Cleaves (Replacement Blades Available Below)
- True Core Imaging® for Automatic Fiber Alignment and Accurate Splice Loss Determination
- Filament Fusion Splicing Station with Automatic Post-Fusion Fire Polishing for Strength Enhancement
- Recoat Station for Acrylate Coating Restoration
- Includes Windows® 10 PC with GUI
All-in-One Fiber Preparation and Fusion Splicing Workstation offers all fusion splicing and cleaving procedures integrated into a single system that can be used to produce consistent splices quickly and efficiently (US Patent: 9,977,189). This workstation uses our filament fusion technology to provide a convenient, reliable method of making high-strength, low-loss splices for both production and R&D applications. The splicer is capable of detecting and displaying the inner core structure of a fiber thanks to a high-magnification, high-resolution optical imaging system, enabling true core imaging. This technology provides for fast, accurate core alignment and splice loss calculation. Also included is a Windows® 10 PC with a user interface that offers complete configuration and process control. The model offered here is for SM and MM fibers.
The system is capable of processing fibers with Ø80 µm to Ø200 µm cladding. This includes standard Ø80 µm cladding / Ø180 µm coating and Ø125 µm cladding / Ø250 µm coating fibers.
Automatic Alignment
Our THL-FFS2000 All-in-One Workstation detects and displays a fiber’s inner core structure; in conjunction with 0.01 µm resolution stepper-motor-controlled XY positioners, the THL-FFS2000 provides a fast and accurate alignment system. Alternately, the stepper motors in the FFS2000 can also interface with external test and measurement equipment, such as power meters, spectrum analyzers, and polarimeters, through analog BNC inputs, to create a fully automated optical assembly station.
The workstation can also provide a splice loss determination after the splicing is complete. From the image of the fiber cores, a proprietary algorithm is used to accurately calculate the loss for a splice of a variety of similar or dissimilar fiber types.
Filament Fusion
Our unique filament fusion technology provides a consistent, reliable method of making high-strength, low-loss splices. Precise control of the fusion process is achieved by purging the splice region with an inert gas and using a tungsten or iridium filament to supply the thermal input necessary for fiber fusion. Because the fusion heat source is isolated from the environment, filament fusion splicing is not dependent on ambient conditions. Controlled conditions inside the system in combination with constant power control circuitry ensure repeatable performance splice after splice.
Fire Polishing
Our fire polishing process significantly increases splice strength through a rapid post-fusion heat treatment of the splice region. When a fusion splice is made, silica will evaporate off of the hot center region of the splice and condense on either side of the joint where the fiber is cooler. The condensed silica deposits act as a surface flaw, lowering splice strength. The fire polishing process removes or minimizes the deposits, thereby improving splice strength. In addition, the fire polishing process provides capabilities to expand adiabatically the mode field diameter of a fiber by causing the dopants in the cladding to diffuse farther from the core. Through this thermal core expansion process, extremely low-loss fusion splices between markedly dissimilar fibers, such as those typically used in WDM applications, can be achieved.
Recoating
The FFS2000 includes an optical fiber recoater to restore the protective polymer coating over the fusion splice. The combination of high-strength filament fusion splicing and UV acrylate recoating provides a more reliable alternative to standard heat shrink protection sleeves. The recoat process maintains a near-original fiber diameter and delivers a smooth, flexible fusion splice that can be handled or tightly coiled as if no splice were present.
