The Boeing Company
Epoxy-free plastic optical fiber splice design and fabrication process

Abstract:

An epoxy-free, high-durability and low-cost plastic optical fiber splice design and fabrication process which meets commercial airplane environmental requirements. The splice design: (1) does not require the use of epoxy to join the end faces of two plastic optical fibers together; (2) incorporates double-crimp rings to provide highly durable pull force for the plastic optical fibers that are joined together; (3) resolves any vibration problem at the plastic optical fiber end faces using a miniature stop inside a splice alignment sleeve; and (4) incorporates a splice alignment sleeve that can be mass produced using precision molding or three-dimensional printing processes.