title: Analysis of changes in optical fibers during arc-fusion splicing by use of quantitative phase imaging.
abstract: A non-interferometric imaging technique in conjunction with Abel inversion is used to directly and quantitatively examine the changes in optical fibers due to the heating produced during arc-fusion splicing as a function of fusion arc parameters. Phase images in the vicinity of a fusion splice are obtained using Quantitative Phase Microscopy, allowing the refractive-index change to be reconstructed with high spatial resolution. This simple, nondestructive method confirms that, for a fixed arc current, while the fusion time increases, the refractive-index of both fiber cores within the fusion region decreases in magnitude, the core region broadens, and the axial gradient decreases.
authors.affiliation: School of Physics, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia. n.dragomir@physics.unimelb.edu.au
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Dragomir
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ampen-Lassen
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Baxter
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pace
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Huntington
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Farrell
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Stevenson
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roberts