polishing technology
Author：ACT From：ACT Hits：4675 Date：2013/2/5 下午 02:44:57
The fiber optic polishing is a kind of craft that used on optical fiber, and usually the polishing is essential for almost all glass-based fibers with cladding diameters larger than 200 microns.
Moreover, all fiber connectors require polishing. Here below let’s come to the polishing on glass-based fibers.
In this essay, I would like to introduce two out of eight key elements in polishing. First, it is about the fiber ferrules:
The diameter of most optical fibers ranges from 80 um to 1000 um, too small to be polished directly.
We often use Ceramic, metal, or glass ferrules to protect the fibers, and between them, ceramic or metal ferrules are the most commonly used fiber connectors.
Glass ferrules are preferred when optical coating is necessary after polishing for better adhesion. Due to the significant difference in hardness between the three materials, proper polishing setup is critical for optimum results, that means, for different material of fiber optic connector, we should use set the polishing parameter different from each other according so that can reach a proper result.
Second, the key polishing ingredients is also an important part in the eight elements that effect polishing effect.
The domed surface is ideal for true physical contact between two single mode fiber cores, The convex surface of the fiber ferrules are achieved by pressing the ferrules on flexible polishing pads, which is different from lens polishing. The domed surface is ideal for true physical contact between two single mode fiber cores, and physical contact is also possible with multi mode fibers when the core diameter is small.
As we all know, the dome radius of curvature is determined by the pressing force, the hardness and the thickness of the polishing pad.
A true physical contact also requires a slight undercut of the fiber, while the amount of undercut is the result of the type of polishing film used, the force applied, and the polish speed.
And just as we can see, only combined with a well designed and precisely tuned fiber optic polishing machine, proper procedures the operator takes for the process, and the right type of polishing films used can a consistent high-quality polishing be achieved.
In the last essay we have talked about two key elements that influenced the polishing, that is the fiber ferrules and key polishing ingredients. And that is not all, today we will focus on another three parts that also very important in fiber optic polishing: polishing films, load force and speed.
The third, let’s talk about the polishing films for the connector polishing. In my last time of introduce the key polishing ingredients, we have mentioned the undercut. Well, there is a relationship between polishing films and undercut, the particle material of the polishing film is the key factor determining the amount of undercut. For the particle material, Diamond, silicon carbide, and aluminum oxide are the three most popular materials used today. A mixture of different film materials may be necessary in one process for the optimum result. One should follow the recommendation of the procedure. De-ionized cooling water is recommended for all polishing films.
Fouth, let’s come to the load force element. This is one of the key parameters an operator needs to set before fiber polishing. The load force is determined based on the selection of the type of connectors/ferrules, the number of ferrules, and the diameter of the ferrules. And one common mistake is not adjusting the load force when the polishing fixture is not fully loaded. It is really important to follow the procedures in the manual.
The fifth point is the speed. Most polishing machines do not offer the flexibility of speed adjustment, this is partially due to the fact that most users only need to handle one type of ferrule material such as zirconia. While a slight speed variation does not have significant impact on connector polish result, that’s why there comes portable polisher which allows the user to manually crank the lever. What’s more, the polisher should be more versatile, which should have the capability to change speed according the ferrule and polishing film material. And AgateFiber is working on this kind of polisher now, we provide this kind of high quality and effective fiber optic polishing machine. So much for the introduction of the polishing films, load force and speed these three elements that influenced the fiber optic polishing, next we will come to the last three factors.
In the last essay we have talked about three key elements that influenced the polishing, that is the polishing films, load force and speed. And today we will going to introduce the last three key factors that also plays an important in Agatefiber optic polishing: polishing time, inspection and testing, hand polish, and end this topic.
First, let’s focus on the polishing time. The proper of polishing time is really important, we should not to dwell on any polishing film longer than necessary, because too much polishing will result in unnecessary polish film wear, undesirable ferrule length and degraded polish finish due to particle accumulation. So during the polishing process we should make proper adjustments to the recommended polish time in each step in case they are less then ideal.
And next we come to the element of inspection and testing. We should inspect every fiber connectors in each polish step to ensure that the previous step is complete. So a stereo or mono microscope with large magnification (60x or larger) is necessary. We should keep in mind that an interferometer can be useful for inspecting and recording the dome radius of curvature and surface quality, and a mono microscope (180x or larger) with coaxial illumination, camera, and monitor is ideal to reduce worker fatigue. Nevertheless, this type of method requires individual connectors being inserted into the instrument making it less practical for production. And the return loss can be measured by mating the DUT with any qualified connectors, insertion loss testing can be accomplished by mating the DUT with a master. At last, do not forget to wrap the loose end a few turns on a mandrel.
Finally, we get to the last key element: the hand polish. A large number of non-production types of terminations are still done by hand, even though there are many kinds of well designed fiber polishing machine, though the return loss performance is far inferior and there is no consistency of overall performance. A good polisher is like a high-end audio system, and you will not know what you are missing until you have one. Once you have one, you will never want to go back. We have that kind of polisher which is designed for field technicians and yet it can be just as ideal for small quantity termination in the lab or production.
If you want this Agatefiber optic polishing fixture, welcome to visit our website: www.agatefiber.com. We will try our best to provide you superior quality products and the best service.
In a word, the fiber polishing is not only a kind of science but also a kind of art. Though it is the individual user to make efforts to enhance the art of polishing resides in the procedure, the science of polishing is crystallized in a well designed machine. So a good knowledge of polishing and the good polishing machine play the same important role.