High Strength fusion splicing is a splicing term which often refers to the tensile strength of the bond at the fusion splice point. In order to achieve consistent high strength results at the splice point special care has to given to the fiber preparation process where micro-scratches and niks can often occur.


This high strength preparation process involves stripping of the fiber coating(s) without touching or damaging the bare glass cladding underneath. For this type of stripping we recommend fiber holders and our thermal mechanical fiber stripper to create a controlled, linear pull when removing the fiber coating. This proven factory process minimizes the touching of the metal blades along the cladding during the removal process.  For metallic or polyimide coated fibers we recommend our Plasma Workstation to etch away the polyimide coating material without negatively impacting the strength of the polyimide coated fiber.


Ultrasonically cleaning with isopropyl alcohol or acetone and not with chemical wipes or cotton swabs is an effective way to clean fibers while maintaining higher strength results. 3SAE manufactures a variety of different ultrasonic fiber cleaners for special applications for high strength splicing and for Fiber Bragg Gratings manufacturing. Cleaving the fiber straight and flat before splicing is another important part of the process. The bond and strength of the splice is directly proportional to the quality of the fiber cleave. We use standard techniques as well as innovative new technologies in cleaving to make high strength splicing simple to achieve with our equipment.