Optical Fiber Coupler Guide Body Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for producing optical fiber couplers struggle with precise positioning of fibers within the capillary, leading to issues like twisting, crossing, and eccentricity, which result in increased numerical aperture and loss of reproducibility in signal feedthrough.
Innovation Solution
Connecting at least one fiber to a guide body with a diameter larger than the fiber but smaller than the capillary ensures precise centering and stabilization of the fiber bundle during introduction, preventing distortions and maintaining symmetry.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If fibers are introduced into the capillary without additional positioning measures, then the production process is simple, but the fibers become twisted, cross over, or displace eccentrically within the capillary
Solution Approach 1:
A guide body is introduced as an intermediary element between the fiber bundle and the capillary. The guide body has a diameter that is larger than the fiber bundle diameter but smaller than the capillary internal diameter, creating a controlled clearance that guides the fibers during introduction. This mediator prevents direct contact between fibers and capillary walls, eliminating twisting and crossing while maintaining a simple production process.
2Manufacturing precision
If a specially structured capillary with axial channels is used to position fibers, then fiber arrangement precision is improved, but the capillary production effort and costs increase considerably
Solution Approach 1:
The positioning function is segmented from the capillary structure and transferred to a separate guide body. Instead of creating complex internal channels within the capillary, the guide body is introduced as an independent component that provides the necessary geometric constraints for fiber positioning, simplifying capillary manufacturing while achieving precise fiber arrangement.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide body serves as an intermediary positioning element that eliminates the need for complex capillary structures. By introducing this intermediate component with appropriate dimensions, precise fiber positioning is achieved through a simpler capillary design, reducing production effort and costs.
3Reliability
If fibers are positioned without a guide body, then the production process is straightforward, but the numerical aperture increases due to microbending and the arrangement reproducibility is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The guide body acts as a mediator that maintains fiber bundle integrity during introduction. By providing a controlled clearance and guiding surface, it prevents microbending and maintains the original fiber arrangement, ensuring reproducible signal feedthrough while adding minimal complexity to the introduction process.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide body is prepared in advance with specific dimensional characteristics (diameter between fiber bundle diameter and capillary internal diameter) to pre-establish the correct geometric constraints. This preliminary preparation ensures that when the fiber bundle is introduced, the positioning is automatically achieved without requiring complex real-time control, thereby improving reliability with minimal added complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method ensures reliable guidance and minimizes optical losses by maintaining fiber symmetry, reducing microbending and numerical aperture, and enabling low-loss splice connections.
Implementation Method 1
The capillary and the fibers of the fiber bundle which are surrounded by the capillary are finally heated, whereby the capillary is collapsed onto the fiber bundle. At the same time, the fibers in the capillary are fused to the capillary under tension
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for producing an optical fiber coupler, having the following method steps:combining two or more light-guiding fibers (1, 2, 3) to form a fiber bundle;introducing the fiber bundle into a capillary (4);collapsing the capillary (4) onto the fiber bundle surrounded by the capillary. It is the object of the invention to provide an improved method for producing an optical fiber coupler. The method is intended to enable the positioning of the fibers within the capillary to be as precise as possible. At the same time, it should be possible to implement the method with comparatively little effort. To this end, the invention proposes that at least one of the fibers (1, 2, 3) is connected at the end to a guide body (5, 5′) whereof the diameter in the direction transversely to the longitudinal extent of the fiber (1, 2, 3) is larger than the diameter of the fiber (1, 2, 3) and smaller than the internal diameter of the capillary (4).