Fibre splices with 'perfect fibre' strengths of 5.5 GPa, v<0.01

Splices of single-mode fused silica fibre having strengths equivalent to that of the as-drawn fibre of ∼800 ksi (5.5 GPa) with a coefficient of variation v of <0.01 are produced by fusion splicing with an H2-Cl2-O2 flame. These results demonstrate that fused silica fibre can be reheated to fusion temperatures and retain original high strength. The results are statistically analysed with respect to variations in breaking load, fibre and splice diameter, and relative humidity.