Fabrication of fibre optic components

Abstract From the Canadian patent

Apparatus for fabricating a fused biconical taper fibre optic coupler includes a hollow furnace having a longitudinal slot. Clamp units are provided to hold at least two suitably prepared optical fibres in intimate side-by-side contact. The clamp units are moveable by motors to relatively laterally move the fibres into and out of the furnace through the slot. A power supply heats the furnace to in turn heat segments of the fibres therein while these segments are in intimate side-byside contact to a temperature sufficient to cause the fibre segments to fuse together. Drawing units associated with the clamp units longitudinally draw the heated fibres while in the hot furnace to cause each …