Following the fusion splicing proce

Following the fusion splicing procedures outlined earlier typically results in a low-loss splice that outperforms the attenuation requirements for inside or outside plant splices. However, occasionally you will encounter a splice that exceeds maximum attenuation requirements. As you’ve learned, how well a splice performs depends on many variables. As with mechanical splicing, these variables can be broken into two groups: intrinsic factors and extrinsic factors.

Intrinsic factors are the result of slight variations from one optical fiber to another. These variations can affect the performance of the splice even though the optical fibers are perfectly aligned when mated. However, the optical fibers available today have very little variation, which means that a small percentage of the splice loss may be from intrinsic factors.

Extrinsic factors are related to the condition of the splice itself, external to the optical fibers. Many times, they are caused by dirt and contamination. Microscopic particles of dirt can cause the misalignment of one or both optical fibers, creating a high-loss splice.

Next we will examine some of the common causes for a high-loss fusion splice.