**4.1 Issues and solutions specific to fusion splicing of PCFs**

Besides issues presented in section 3, work with PCF brings several new challenges:


It is often needed to splice PCFs having unusual cladding diameter, core design and MFD, as there are no standards for this category of fibres. Most commercially available splicing and test equipment, tools and accessories like fibre adaptors or protective sleeves are designed strictly for telecom fibres with 125 μm cladding and 250-900 μm coating.

A compromise between achieving different goals is often required, particularly between splice loss and its mechanical strength. Also, unless optimization of manufacturing process, device performance, etc. justifies labour and equipment costs involved, time and funds available for trials are limited and less-than-perfect solutions need to be accepted.
