OFS ANNOUNCES THE COMMERCIAL AVAILABILITY OF ITS WIDE AREA PLASMA FITEL® FUSION SPLICER

S184 Splicer Provides Greater Thermal Control, Higher Tensile Strength and Lower Insertion Loss for Fiber Types up to 1.2 mm

OFC/ NFOEC 2009, Booth 2539, San Diego, California, March 23, 2009 -  OFS today announces the commercial availability of its FITEL® series of fusion splicers featuring three-phase plasma technology for high strength, high yield, large diameter and specialty fiber splicing at the industry’s premier annual conference, OFC/NFOEC in San Diego, California March 23-27, 2009.

Three-phase plasma technology places a third electrode in a “Y” configuration. This additional electrode, combined with an advanced arc discharging unit for independent modulation, produces a “ring of fire” arc zone. The useable region of the “wide-area plasma field” is up to 100 times larger than a two-electrode arc system, and it provides consistent heating throughout the entire zone.

This technological breakthrough provides the ability to:
* Splice larger diameter fiber with extremely low insertion loss
* Use a thermally expanded core process for dissimilar MFD fibers
* Achieve an extremely stable, reliable, and controllable heat zone every time

The improved stability and extended dynamic range of the three-phase plasma field also allows for a thermally expanded core process. This core diffusion method can be used pre- or post-splice to achieve significantly lower optical loss for fibers with mismatched mode field diameters (MFD).

Three-phase plasma technology also produces temperatures stable enough to perform a “flame polish” post splice to increase the tensile strength of the splice. The flame polish, like an annealing process, removes imperfections in the silica created during the splice itself. 

About OFS

OFS is a world-leading designer, manufacturer and provider of optical fiber, optical fiber cable, FTTX, optical connectivity and specialty photonics products.  Our manufacturing and research divisions work together to provide innovative products and solutions that traverse many different applications as they link people and machines worldwide. Between continents, between cities, around neighborhoods, and into homes and businesses of digital consumers we provide the right optical fiber, optical cable and components for efficient, cost-effective transmission.
 
OFS’ corporate lineage dates back to 1876 and included technology powerhouses such as AT&T (NYSE: T) and Lucent Technologies (now Alcatel-Lucent, NYSE: ALU). Today, OFS is owned by Furukawa Electric, a multi-billion dollar global leader in optical communications. 

Headquartered in Norcross (near Atlanta) Georgia, U.S., OFS is a global provider with facilities in Avon, Connecticut; Carrollton, Georgia; Somerset, New Jersey; and Sturbridge, Massachusetts, as well as in Denmark, Germany and Russia.

For more information, please visit www.ofsoptics.com.

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Sherry Salyer      
OFS Public Relations      
shsalyer@ofsoptics.com    
Direct:  770-798-4210 
Mobile: 678-296-7034