An electrical discharge, suitable for heating optical fibers for processing, is made in a controlled partial vacuum, such that saturation of available ionizable gas molecules is reached. The workpiece temperature is thereby made to be a stably controlled function of the absolute air pressure and is insensitive to other conditions. A system and method accomplishing the foregoing are provided.

A method for splicing optical fibers includes aligning the cores of a first optical fiber and second optical fiber to be spliced together such that the cores are both generally concentric along a longitudinal axis. The method further includes heating the end portions of the first and second optical fibers, and moving at least one of the first or second optical fiber towards the other of the first or second optical fiber along the longitudinal axis such that the end portion of the second optical fiber protrudes into the end portion of the first optical fiber. The method further includes discontinuing heating of the end portions of the first and second optical fibers, and continuing moving the at least one of the first or second optical fiber towards the other of the first or second optical fiber after discontinuing heating.

A method for splicing optical fibers includes aligning the cores of a first optical fiber and second optical fiber to be spliced together such that the cores are both generally concentric along a longitudinal axis. The method further includes heating the end portions of the first and second optical fibers, and moving at least one of the first or second optical fiber towards the other of the first or second optical fiber along the longitudinal axis such that the end portion of the second optical fiber protrudes into the end portion of the first optical fiber. The method further includes discontinuing heating of the end portions of the first and second optical fibers, and continuing moving the at least one of the first or second optical fiber towards the other of the first or second optical fiber after discontinuing heating.

Devices, systems, and methods for a detection device using optical fiber are described herein. In some examples, one or more embodiments include a detection device comprising a splitter, where the splitter is to be connected to a feed leg of an optical fiber, and the splitter is to split the feed leg of the optical fiber into a destination leg and a detection leg, where the detection leg is oriented in a loop, and an actuation mechanism, where when the actuation mechanism is in an engaged orientation, the actuation mechanism is to cause a microbend in the detection leg, and when the actuation mechanism is in a disengaged orientation, the actuation mechanism is to cause the microbend to be removed from the detection leg.

An electrical discharge, suitable for heating optical fibers for processing, is made in a controlled partial vacuum, such that saturation of available ionizable gas molecules is reached. The workpiece temperature is thereby made to be a stably controlled function of the absolute air pressure and is insensitive to other conditions. A system and method accomplishing the foregoing are provided.

An electrical discharge, suitable for heating optical fibers for processing, is made in a controlled partial vacuum, such that saturation of available ionizable gas molecules is reached. The workpiece temperature is thereby made to be a stably controlled function of the absolute air pressure and is insensitive to other conditions. A system and method accomplishing the foregoing are provided.

The fusion splicer includes a first holding unit, a second holding unit, a screen, a first measurement device, a first driving unit, a second driving unit, and a third driving unit. The screen has a light guide portion through which only test light emitted from one of the plurality of cores of the first optical fiber can pass. The screen is disposed between the end face of the first optical fiber and the end face of the second optical fiber. The first measurement device measures the intensity of leakage light leaking from the second optical fiber. The third driving unit adjusts the position of the screen such that the light guide portion is aligned with one of the plurality of cores of the first optical fiber in the axial direction of the first optical fiber.