The compound annual growth rate
(CAGR) for cloud data centers
is reported to be 30 percent
and has shifted the focus of the
traditional data center.
is properly identifying the fiber
type and setting up the splicer
accordingly. For example, are the
two ribbons the same? If so, splicing
would be easy; it is not so easy if
the two ribbons are dissimilar fibers.
It is recommended that the splicing
technician consult the instruction
manual for adjustments that may
be necessary for the splice settings.
Discovering the optimum splicing
profile will require some experimentation
to obtain the lowest
splice loss.
Stripping the optical fiber is
accomplished with a thermal
stripper. Differing ribbon cables
will likely require that the
temperature be adjusted until the
outside jacket is completely removed
and all of the fibers are exposed
and clean. It is important to clean
the thermal stripper at this point
in time as remnant debris may
impede the next fiber stripping.
The exposed fiber needs to be
cleaned with 99 percent pure
isopropyl alcohol prior to cleaving.
The fiber shards might not always
be captured in the cleaver dust
bin due to static retention. The
50 I ICT TODAY
technician needs to make sure that
the cleaver does not have any errant
shards on the presser pads or on the
cleaving wheel as this will certainly
impede the cleaver from cleaving
or cause the cleaver to produce poor
cleaves. After the second fiber is
prepared with a splice protector
on one of the ribbon cables, the
splicer is ready to splice. Make sure
that the fibers of the two ribbon
cables are aligned as shown in
Figure 6.
Realignment of the ribbon cable
may be necessary if the fibers are not
perfectly aligned. At this time, it is
also good practice to check that the
color code is consistent between the
two optical fiber cables. This is
especially important when
ribbonizing individual fibers
to form a ribbon cable for splicing
to another ribbon cable or when
breaking out a ribbon cable to
individual fibers. Ribbonizing
is the process of taking individual
fibers and bringing them together
to form a ribbon cable. This process
requires that the technician learns
the techniques that demand much
practice and patience! Once the cable
is ribbonized, the conventional
splicing process is employed.
FIGURE 6: For a successful mass fusion splice, the ribbon fibers must be perfectly
aligned as shown.