Brent D. JohnsonOptical gels were originally designed to improve return loss in mechanical splices of single-mode fiber, but they also have proved to be effective at index matching for a variety of optical components. One of the key advantages of an optical gel is that it is a fluid, which allows it to seep in and around wiring during encapsulation. Once cured, the material is very soft and elastomeric, permitting thermal expansion without migration of the material or change in refractive index. 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