Fusion splicing of plastic optical fibers using a mid-IR fiber laser

This work demonstrated the fusion splicing of plastic optical fibers (POFs) using a 2.8 mu m continuous-wave fiber laser. This mid-IR laser-based fusion splicing technique does not require the use of adhesives or any other treatments. The performance of the proposed method was investigated by assessing the optical transmission, tensile strength and bending strength values of POF specimens after fusion bonding while employing various splicing conditions. An optical transmission of 0.76 was obtained by splicing under appropriate conditions. A minimum bending radius and tensile strength of the POF samples were found to be 1.5 mm and 13.5 N, respectively.