| 摘要 |
PURPOSE:To remove primary coating layers without damaging fiber bodies and to allow thermal welding with high reliability by etching away the primary coating layers, then connecting the end faces of the juncture of the two fibers to each other by the thermal welding. CONSTITUTION:The primary coating layers are etched away and the end faces of the juncture of the two fibers are connected by the thermal welding. Namely, the front end part of the optical fiber 1 coated with a functional thin film 1f consisting of, for example, amorphous carbon is disposed between discharge electrodes 3a and 3b and after the inside of a chamber 2 is evacuated, gaseous O2 is introduced into the chamber and a high-frequency voltage is impressed between the discharge electrodes 3a and 3b to form a plasma discharge electrode A. The thin film of the amorphous carbon is then removed and the optical fiber body is exposed. The butted part of both end faces of the obtained optical fixes are thermally welded to connect the fibers. The primary coating layers 1f can be removed in this way without entailing the troubles, such as the thermal influence on the optical fiber bodies or fusion cutting thereof. The stability and reliability of the thermal welding state at the time of the connection are thus enhanced. |
