Failure analysis of connector-terminated optical fibers: two case studies

Author

LeFevre, Bruce G. ; King, Wilton W. ; Hardee, A.G. ; Carlisle, A.W. ; Bradley, K.B.

Author_Institution

AT&T Bell Labs., Norcross, GA, USA

Volume

11

Issue

4

fYear

1993

fDate

4/1/1993 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

537

Lastpage

541

Abstract

Two of the most common fiber-optic connector failures involve fiber breaks caused by thermal changes. Type I failures involve fiber buckling during cooling from the epoxy cure temperature and are related to the free length of fiber inside the ferrule/backbone assembly. Type II failures occur during the heating phase of thermal cycling and are caused by expansion of epoxy in the ferrule entry under certain conditions. These conditions lead to otherwise unexpected tension at the ferrule capillary entry. In both cases the failure probability is increased by fiber damage during the termination process. Examples of the two types of failure are presented together with a discussion of the mechanisms and the reliability implications

Keywords

failure (mechanical); failure analysis; fracture; optical fibre testing; probability; reliability; connector-terminated optical fibers; cooling; epoxy cure temperature; epoxy expansion; failure probability; ferrule capillary entry; ferrule entry; ferrule/backbone assembly; fiber breaks; fiber buckling; fiber damage; fiber-optic connector failures; free length; heating phase; reliability; tension; thermal changes; thermal cycling; Assembly; Computer aided software engineering; Connectors; Cooling; Failure analysis; Heating; Optical fibers; Temperature; Testing; Thermal expansion;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Lightwave Technology, Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0733-8724

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/50.248115

Filename

248115