Systems and methods for low-loss splicing of optical fibers having a high concentration of fluorine to other types of optical fiber

A thermal treatment station, comprising:

• a plate having a central cutaway section;
• first and second fiber clamps on either side of the cutaway section for holding a pair of spliced optical fibers having a splice point positioned within the cutaway section, the first clamp holding optical fiber firmly in position, the second clamp allowing optical fiber to pass therethrough such that the second clamp functions as a guide;
• a translation stage for moving the plate in order to controllably position the splice point within a flame from a torch;
• a position reader for reading the position of the translation stage.

A method for splicing together a first and a second optical fiber, comprising:

• (a) splicing the first and second fibers together at a splice point using a fusion splicer;
• (b) positioning the splice point within a flame;
• (c) monitoring the spliced first and second fibers for splice loss;
• and
• (d) removing the spliced first and second fibers from the flame when a desired minimum level of splice loss is achieved.

A method for splicing together first and second optical fibers, comprising:

• (a) splicing the first and second fibers together at a splice point using a fusion splicer;
• (b) loading the spliced fibers into a fiber holding block in a thermal treatment station;
• (c) positioning the splice point such that it lies within a flame from a torch in the thermal treatment station;
• (d) monitoring the spliced first and second fibers for splice loss;
• (e) removing the splice point from the flame when a desired minimum level of splice loss has been achieved;
• and
• (f) removing the spliced first and second fibers from the thermal treatment station.