Patent ID: 6464410
Filing Date: 2002-10-15
Classification: G02B

Abstract:
A method of controlling a fiber optic splicing apparatus to produce an attenuating splice having a target insertion loss value, comprising:misaligning a first and a second fiber such that their respective optical axes are not aligned; controlling an amount of power applied by the fiber optic splicing apparatus to fuse the first and second fibers and form the attenuating splice; measuring an insertion loss of the attenuating splice while the fusing is occurring; estimating a final jump value wherein the final jump value is indicative of a transient attenuation change that occurs after the fiber optic splicing apparatus is shut down; shutting down the power applied by the fiber optic splicing apparatus according to the estimated final jump value; calculating energy settings based on the measured insertion loss; and controlling an amount of energy applied by the fiber optic splicing apparatus to adjust the insertion loss of the attenuating splice according to the calculated energy settings.