it must produce a loss of -0.3dB or better
it must be easy to use
it must be re-usable
it must be easy to clean and re-use
it must be capable of mounting in enclosures
it must be capable of fitting both buffer styles, 250um or 900um buffers
it must be priced well, around $20/splice
once locked and fitted the fibers must not move or drift out of alignment.
Some simple and inexpensive splices like the GTE rely on locking the buffers down by
jamming the buffer in a V groove. This style of splice is fast to use and simple to use for testing purposes.
For longer term applications a buffer locking mechanism is preferable. The Dorran uses
compression to lock the bare fiber and jamming plugs to lock the fiber buffers.
The Ultrasplice uses a tiny glass tube to align the fibers and a small plastic chuck to lock onto the buffers.
The Siccor splice is similar to the ultrasplice but uses a rotational locking action to grab the buffers.
Other splices use a sleeve that slides toward the center of the splice to lock the
buffers in place.
All splices use tiny alignment tubes or alignment slots to align the two bare fiber ends.
All splices use elastomeric gel, also called index correcting gel to reduce refractive
index losses or NA losses when the two bare fiber faces come together. This gel has a similar density to the core glass density thus less refractive losses occur as light
passes across the joint.
This gel must be replaced if you strip a splice down to clean out dust or broken fibers.
What else should I consider?
The buffer size effects the locking mechanism.
Buy the right color coded ends for your job.
Locking down the splice should not require special tools.
