Patent ID: 8764317

Claim:
An optical fiber end processing method for processing an end of an optical fiber comprising a core, a cladding provided around a circumference of the core, a plurality of air holes formed around the core within the cladding and along an axial direction of the core, comprising: an optical fiber fixing step of fixing two portions of an optical fiber; a first heat fusion region forming step of heating and fusing the optical fiber between the two fixed portions by a heat fusion means after the optical fiber fixing step, to form a first heat fusion region in the optical fiber; a second heat fusion region forming step of heating and fusing the optical fiber between the two fixed portions by the heat fusion means while fixing the two fixed portions after the first heat fusion region forming step, moving the heat fusion means from a side of the first heat fusion region toward a base end side of the optical fiber, and pushing a heat fusion portion of the optical fiber in a direction of shortening a length of the heat fusion portion along the axial direction in synchronization with a movement of the heat fusion means, to form a second heat fusion region which is continuous to the first heat fusion region and in which the air holes of the optical fiber disappear; and a removal step of removing the first heat fusion region by cutting the optical fiber within the second heat fusion region after the second heat fusion region forming step.