Development of single-mode four-fiber ribbon splicer with accurate splice loss estimation.

A mass-fusion splicer for single-mode four-fiber ribbon has been developed with an accurate splice loss estimation function capability. Measurements in two orthogonal directions are used to obtain a high axis offset resolution of 0.3 microm. An average splice loss of 0.05 dB and an average splice loss estimation error of -0.002 dB are achieved.