Abstract
The core alignment system (CAS) has been widely used in automatic optical fiber fusion splicers for many years. The fundamental principle of a AS splicer is the detection of the relative core positions of two fibers before fusion. The conventional method of core detection is based on the processing of a digital image taken by an installed video camera while the fibers are illuminated by a light source. Because of the circular cross-section of the fiber, the fiber works like a convex lens when the fiber is illuminated orthogonally to its axis. Thus, dark zones are generated in the focus plane along the boundaries of different refractive indices, such as the boundary between air and cladding as well as cladding and core.1,2 To resolve the very thin dark lines (~2 μm thick) along the core-cladding boundary, the lens should be placed close to the fiber to achieve rather high image magnification. But since the lens may get damaged by the high temperature of the arc, it has to be withdrawn during the fusion. This makes it impossible to monitor the warm fiber during the fusion with many automatic fusion splicers.
© 1992 Optical Society of America
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