Optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR) measurements have been performed to characterize the minimum reflection signature from PMMA plastic fiber splices. The dominant splice reflection sources due to inexact index matching and fiber core misalignment were carefully examined. A clearly detectable intrinsic OTDR reflection signature was observed with all tested fibers. The measured reflectivities varied from -54 to -27 dB. The characteristics of this signature were mapped out vs. experimental variables such as fiber surface roughness, polishing procedure, fiber-fiber alignment, and index matching characteristics.

Date Published: 9 February 1993
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 1799, Specialty Fiber Optic Systems for Mobile Platforms and Plastic Optical Fibers, (9 February 1993); doi: 10.1117/12.141347

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1799:
Specialty Fiber Optic Systems for Mobile Platforms and Plastic Optical Fibers
Luis Figueroa; Mototaka Kitazawa; Norris E. Lewis; Robert E. Steele; Deepak Varshneya, Editor(s)