Burns, Doane, Swecker & Mathis, L.L.P.
Splicing aged optical fibers
 For improving mechanical characteristics of an aged optical glass fiber, the segment is retained between clamps, e.g. in a conventional splicing machine. Then the segment is heated to a high temperature in the vicinity of the softening temperature or melt temperature of the glass material of the fiber by means of an infrared light beam from a carbon dioxide laser or by an electric arc generated between the welding electrodes. In particular, the tensile strength is increased considerably by this procedure, what allows that the heated segment can be handled and exposed to the operative steps required for splicing the fiber to another optical fiber. Then also old fibers arranged in the ground can be repaired and spliced, and it is not necessary to replace whole lengths of old fibers. 
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Goran Leif Magnus
Ljungqvist Stensland Johansson