Angular Offset Splicing of Polarization Maintained (PANDA) Optical Fibers in an Electronics Manufacturing Environment

Panda fibers are used in applications where polarized light is required as an input. Panda fibers do not polarize the light passed through them but maintain the polarization of the incident light. The focus of this research endeavor is restricted to the angular offset splicing process of Polarization Maintaining (PM) panda fibers during optoelectronic assembly. In the splicing process, two or more fiber ends are fused together using a high electric discharge in such a manner that a minimum amount of losses are introduced [1]. However, in this particular research effort, angular offset was used to perform the splicing of panda fibers. Angular displacement is not desired during the splicing of panda fibers as it introduces losses due to phase changes that are caused because of the misalignment of stress rods. This study observes the effects of angular displacement on the splice loss. This paper focuses on the angular offset splicing of Panda fibers. The objective of the study was to observe the effect of angular displacement on the splice loss during the angular offset splicing process for panda fibers and outline the splicing parameters that have a significant impact on the splice loss. A design of experiments (DOE) approach has been used to perform the splicing. Even though the splicer provides a loss estimate, a real time splice loss measurement set up using a power meter and source was used to measure the actual loss. Offset distance, target loss and angular displacement were the factors selected for experimentation. Experiments were conducted using the aforementioned parameters. An effort has been made to obtain ‘best’ combination values for the significant parameters that can be used for production in an Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) provider’s environment.