Fiber-Optic Array Splicing with Etched Silicon Chips
01 January 1978
A two-dimensional array splicing approach for connecting fiber optic cable has been reported previously. 1 This mass splicing technique has given encouraging results and was used in the Atlanta Fiberguide System Experiment. The method of fabrication of the connector halves involves the following operations: 1 - 2 (i) Ribbons containing linear arrays of fibers are prepared by removing all ribbon and coating material from the fibers at the end of the ribbons. (ii) A stack is formed by interleaving chips and layers of fibers to form a two-dimensional array (see Fig. 1). (Hi) The array is potted to maintain the geometry. 75 Fig. 1--Stacking fiber ribbons.