Multi-channel glass-soldered fiber optic connectors for ITER

As part of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor ITER project, CONESYS & SEDI-ATI Fibres Optiques have produced a 100% mineral glass-soldered multi-channel optical base for optical metrology in radiative and cryogenic environments.

This base incorporates monomodes and multimodes optical fibers, specialy adapted to withstand radiation.

No organic elements such as glue are used to seal the various components together. The ferrules are glass-soldered into the connector housing, which is itself welded onto a  CF DN 40 flange, and the optical fibers are glass-soldered into the connector housing. The insertion losses generated by this type of sealing are entirely comparable to more conventional glue-based seals.

Before and after total irradiation of around 6 MGy at a rate of 10.5 kGy/h, the base successfully passed a Helium leak detection of the order of 1 x 10^-9 Pa.m³/s. No mesurable radiation-induced attenuation was measured at the end of this test, which was considered a resounding success.

For the ITER project, SEDI-ATI designs and integrates the « Ferrules + Optical Fibers ». CONESYS Europe integrates the ferrules and optical fibers supplied by SEDI-ATI into the interconnection systems it designs.