Optical Fiber Fusion Splicing

Signi?cant advances in optical ?ber technology have created a need for an up-to-date book about optical ?ber fusion splicing. Over the past 15 years, a variety of new optical ?bers including rare-earth-doped ?ber, dispersi- compensating?ber,dispersion-matched?berpairs,andmicrostructured?ber have been introduced. These ?bers are currently used extensively in both research and commercial applications. Fusion splicing of these ?bers has a signi?cant impact on their performance but the relevant technical infor- tion has hitherto only been accessible by sifting through numerous technical articles published over a span of several decades. This book consolidates this scattered knowledge base into one coherent reference source. This text is intended to serve as a reference for an audience that is both diverse and rapidly growing. This audience includes academic researchers - vestigatingthelatestoptical?bertechnology,designersofcommercialoptical ?ber, ?ber splicing equipment engineers, and product development engineers designingoptical?berdevicesfromcommerciallyavailablecomponents.M- ufacturersofoptical?ber,optical?ber components,optical?ber devices,and optical ?ber splicers all require a sophisticated understanding of optical ?ber fusion splicing. Optical ?ber fusion splicing is a multi-disciplinary topic that combines concepts fromdiverse?eldsincluding opticalwaveguidetheory,heattransfer, materials science, mechanical engineering, reliability theory, ?uid mechanics, and even image processing. This book is unique in that it includes rigorous analyses from all of these very diverse ?elds. Scientists and engineers int- ested in optical ?ber splicing who have a background in one or two of these ?elds will bene?t from relevant knowledge in an unfamiliar ?eld.