Method and apparatus for splicing and reinforcing carbon coated optical fibers.

摘要

The present invention relates to a method for the fusion splicing of carbon coated optical fibers and to a method for providing reinforced performance of the spliced points. Concretely, carbon coated optical fibers are fusion spliced in an atmosphere containing less than 0.5 vol% of oxygen without the removal of the carbon coating. In order to minimize the amount of damage to the carbon coating resulting from the fusion, the decline in the failure probability of the optical fiber is controlled by means of applying moisture to the spliced part or by means of the adhesion of the oxidized carbon gases to the optical fiber. On the other hand, the carbon coating layer which was removed by oxidation at the time of the fusion splicing is recoated by means of a CVD reaction using a laser as a heat source. By means of this, the decline in the fatigue characteristics of the spliced part can be controlled.