Laser removal of fiber optic coating Available to Purchase

There is an increasing need in the field of fiber optic telecommunications for stripped optical fiber. Many products, for example, require hermetic packaging. In order to hermetically seal around a fiber, the protective jacket must be stripped away, and replaced with a thin metal coating, and/or a metal ferrule to create the glass / metal seal. In many cases it is most practical to be able to strip the fiber in the middle, or mid span. Existing stripping methods include acid stripping and mechanical stripping, each of which, have limitations making them unsuitable for certain applications. A key aspect of a stripped fiber is its mechanical strength, typically measured as the point at which the fiber breaks under tensile stress. We report here the development of a laser stripping process, known as Reso-Strip, that is well suited for mid span stripping, and which yields clean fibers with tensile strengths well above industry standards.