Recoating is the process of restoring the primary coating to stripped

optical fiber An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass ( silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a mea ...

sections after

fusion splicing Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nuc ...

. In the recoating process, the spliced fiber is restored to its original shape and strength, using a recoater. The stripped fiber section is recoated by filling a recoating resin, usually

acrylate Acrylates (IUPAC: prop-2-enoates) are the salts, esters, and conjugate bases of acrylic acid. The acrylate ion is the anion C H2=CHC OO−. Often, acrylate refers to esters of acrylic acid, the most common member being methyl acrylate. These acr ...

into transparent moulds. The resin is then cured with UV light. It is often desirable to perform a proof-test after recoating, to ensure that the splice is strong enough to survive handling, packaging and extended use. Recoated splices can usually be coiled into a tight radius because the recoated fiber section is just as flexible as the original

polymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...

coating A coating is a covering that is applied to the surface of an object, usually referred to as the substrate. The purpose of applying the coating may be decorative, functional, or both. Coatings may be applied as liquids, gases or solids e.g. Pow ...

. Recoats are e.g. employed in the assembly of undersea optical fiber cables where high

fusion splice Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nuc ...

strength is already necessitated by stringent reliability requirements. Another reason optical fiber recoating is attractive in submarine communications cabling is that the cross section of recoated fibers matches that of the original fiber. The first commercial optical fiber recoaters were developed by the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

firms Nyfors Teknologi AB and LM Ericsson in the late 1980s for the telecommunications industry.

References

{{reflist Fiber optics

See also

References