JPH02137807A - Manufacture of optical fiber coupler - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow the manufacture of the coupler with good performance by aligning >=2 optical fibers in a crossing state, fusing the intersection, and further extending the fusion part. CONSTITUTION:The two optical fibers are aligned while crossing each other, the intersection is fused, and the fusion part is drawn. Thus, the >=2 optical fibers are aligned crossing each other, so the difficulty of alignment by conventional technique is eliminated and tensile forces applied to the >=2 optical fibers need not be made as equal as possible. Further, the state of the alignment is not affected by none of variance in the external diameter among the optical fibers, the rigidity of the optical fibers, and the stability of a mechanism. Consequently, the >=2 optical fibers are easily aligned, the operation is performed in a short time, and the finally obtained optical fiber coupler has the good performance and is high in yield.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION r. Industrial Application Field This invention relates to a method for manufacturing an optical fiber coupler by a fusion drawing method.

``Prior Art'' The conventional method for manufacturing this type of optical fiber coupler is to: a. align two optical fibers in parallel; b. fuse the parallel aligned portions; The process was to stretch it.

Aligning two optical fibers in parallel using this method is extremely difficult and time-consuming, and the performance of the final coupler is determined by the quality of the alignment. Oops. In order to align two lights and fibers in parallel, at least 4. A mechanism that moves the two optical fibers closer and farther apart at two locations on the left and right, and a mechanism that makes the opening and opening mechanisms symmetrical. Three mechanisms are required: , c, and a mechanism to apply tension as equally as possible to each of the two optical fibers. The alignment state also changes depending on variations in the outer diameter of the optical fiber, the rigidity of the optical fiber, and the stability of each mechanism.

Other methods for manufacturing optical fiber couplers by the conventional fusion-stretching method are: a. Twisting two optical fibers; b. Fusing the twisted right part; C9: Stretching the fused part.

This is the method. In this method, the performance of the final coupler is determined by the way the two optical fibers are twisted. Therefore, in order to manufacture a coupler with very good performance, it is desirable that the twist be well stabilized, but this has been difficult.

"Means for Solving the Problems" According to the present invention, two or more optical fibers are aligned by crossing each other, their crossing points are fused, and the fused portion is further stretched.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a detailed explanation of the present invention, and in this embodiment, two optical fibers are crossed and aligned as shown in FIG.

The intersection points of the optical fibers are fused, and the fused portion is further stretched. In this way, an optical fiber coupler is obtained.

Although two optical fibers are crossed in the above description, three or more optical fibers may be crossed, the crossing points may be fused, and the fused portion may be further stretched.

"Effects of the Invention" In this invention, two or more optical fibers are crossed and aligned, so of the three mechanisms in the prior art, A and C are unnecessary, and C is a mechanism that aligns two or more optical fibers by crossing them. There is no need to make the applied tensions as equal as possible. Moreover, variations in the outer diameter of the optical fiber, the rigidity of the optical fiber, and the stability of the mechanism also do not affect the alignment state.

Therefore, it becomes easy to align two or more optical fibers, the work is shortened, and the final optical fiber coupler with good performance can be manufactured with a high yield. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state in which two optical fibers are crossed and aligned in the manufacturing method of the present invention.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A method for manufacturing an optical fiber coupler using a fusion-stretching method, which includes a step of aligning two or more optical fibers by crossing them, a step of fusing the crossing points, and a step of further drawing the fused portion. A method for manufacturing an optical fiber coupler, comprising: