While melting the glass is standard for permanent splices like those used in joining sections of fiber, it is not required for a tap. Fiber bending and evanescent coupling are two methods that do not modify the source fiber[1][2][3][4].
Across undersea long hauls, optical amplifiers exist (think repeaters, but without any introduction of delay). They get their energy from being pumped by a wavelength of light different from those used for data transmission[5].
Across undersea long hauls, optical amplifiers exist (think repeaters, but without any introduction of delay). They get their energy from being pumped by a wavelength of light different from those used for data transmission[5].
1. http://www.idquantique.com/images/stories/PDF/network-encryp...
2. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evanescent_wave#Evanescent-wa...
3. http://131.238.119.245/asarangan/courses/542/student_project...
4. http://www.rootsecure.net/content/downloads/pdf/fiber_optic_...
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_amplifier#Doped_fibre_a...