How to clean a fiber optic connector?

Do you know how important is to maintain a fiber connector clean? In fact, having a clean eviroment for the connector is one of the most important procedures in the conservation of a fiber optic system. This is necessary to keep quality connections.
If any particle of dust, lint, oil or any other dirt get on the end of the connector, this will interrupt the correct function of the signal that is being sent over the fiber.
An improper maintenance of the cables can also cause other problems such as scratching the glass surface, instability in the laser system, and a misalignment between the fiber cores.
So, the questions is: What to do to clean my fiber optic? Simple:
Before beginning all the process, make sure the cable is disconnected from both ends and turn off any laser sources. Don’t forget to wear safety glasses and check the connectors before you clean them.
Step 1: Inspect the fiber optic connector, component, or bulkhead with a fiberscope.
Step 2: If the connector is dirty, clean it with a dry cleaning technique. This procedure consists of using a reel-based cassette cleaner with medium pressure, wipe the connector end face against a dry cleaning cloth in one direction. This step must be done in both parts of the fibre optic and can be repeated at least two times.
Step 3: If the connector is still dirty, clean it with a wet cleaning technique followed immediately with a dry cleaning in order to ensure no residue is left on the end face. You can use a special solution for fibre optic or 91% Isopropyl Alcohol. Wipe the end face against the wet area and then onto a dry area to clean potential residue from the end face.
Wet cleaning is more aggressive than dry cleaning, and will remove airborne contamination as well as light oil residue and films.
Similar to the dry cleaning method, this one, can be done twice if you consider that the fiber optic isn’t clear yet.
IMPORTANT: The end face of the connector should never be touched during the cleaning process and also the clean area of a tissue should not be touched or reused.
The fiber end should be inspected with a fiberscope of at least 200x magnification, and if it is contaminated, it should be cleaned with one of the methods explained before.
DO’s and DON’Ts when it comes to cleaning a Fiber Optic:
 DO’s:
Turn off any laser sources before you inspect fiber connectors, optical components, or bulkheads.
Make sure that the cable is disconnected at both ends and the card or pluggable receiver is removed from the chassis.
Wear the appropriate safety glasses when required in your area. Be sure that any laser safety glasses meet federal and state regulations and are matched to the lasers used within your environment.
Inspect the connectors or adapters before you clean.
Use the connector housing to plug or unplug a fiber.
Keep a protective cap on unplugged fiber connectors.
Store unused protective caps in a resealable container in order to prevent the possibility of the transfer of dust to the fiber. Locate the containers near the connectors for easy access
Discard used tissues and swabs properly.
 DON’TS:
Use alcohol or wet cleaning without a way to ensure that it does not leave residue on the end face. It can cause damage to the equipment.
Look into a fiber while the system lasers are on.
Clean bulkheads or receptacle devices without a way to inspect them.
Touch products without being properly grounded.
Use unfiltered handheld magnifiers or focusing optics to inspect fiber connectors.
Connect a fiber to a fiberscope while the system lasers are on
Twist or pull forcefully on the fiber cable.
Reuse any tissue, swab, or cleaning cassette reel.
Touch clean area of a tissue, swab, or cleaning fabric.
Touch any portion of a tissue or swab where alcohol was applied.
Touch the dispensing tip of an alcohol bottle.
Use alcohol around an open flame or spark; alcohol is very flammable.

How do Optical Attenuators work?

The power reduction is done by such means as absorption, reflection, diffusion, scattering, reflection, diffraction, and dispersion, etc.
Optical attenuators usually work by absorbing the light, like sunglasses absorb extra light energy.
They typically have a working wavelength range in which they absorb all light energy equally.
They should not reflect the light or scatter the light in an air gap since that could cause unwanted back reflection in the fiber system. Another type of attenuator utilizes a length of the high-loss optical fiber, that operates upon its input optical signal power level in such a way that its output signal power level is less than the input level.
Optical Attenuator Performance:
Amount of attenuation and insertion loss: insertion loss and the attenuation amount of the optical attenuator is an important indicator of the amount of attenuation of the optical attenuator indicator to actually insertion loss, and attenuation amount of the variable attenuator addition, there are separate indicators insertion loss, high quality can be variable attenuator insertion loss 1.0dB or less, in general, common variable attenuator of the index is less than 2.5dB can be used. When the actual selection adjustable attenuator insertion loss as low as possible.
Optical attenuator accuracy: attenuation accuracy is an important indicator of the optical attenuator.
Typically mechanical type variable optical attenuator for attenuation accuracy of ± 0.1 times that amount. Its size depends on the degree of processing of precision mechanical components. High attenuation accuracy fixed optical attenuator. Typically the higher the attenuation accuracy, the higher the price.
Return loss: an important indicator of the impact of system performance in optical device parameters return loss.
The retroreflective optical network system effects are well known. Optical attenuator Return loss is the light energy incident on the optical attenuator and the attenuator light energy incident along the road reflecting ratio.
For now, you can understand how fiber optics attenuators work, and you also are aware of the importance of them for your fiber infrastructure. That’s why Beyondtech has them available at our several distribution locations for 24 hours shipping and they were carefully tested each one of them for your reliability and for a complete solution-oriented approach.

Fiber Optics Attenuators – The Ultime Guide on How they work?

An optical attenuator is a passive device used to reduce the power level of an optical signal, either in free space or in an optical fiber. There are various types of them from the fixed ones, step-wise variable, and continuously variable.
Attenuators are usually used when the signal arriving at the receiver is too strong and hence may overpower the receiving elements. This may occur because of a mismatch between the transmitters/receivers, or because the media converters are designed for a much longer distance than for which they are being used.
Sometimes attenuators are also used for stress testing a network link by incrementally reducing the signal strength until the optical link fails, determining the signal’s existing safety margin.
Although fiber optic attenuators are normally used in SM (Single Mode) circuits, because this is where the stronger lasers are used for distance transmission, there are also multi mode attenuators available.
The most common version of attenuators are male to female units, often called plug-style or buildout style. These plug-style attenuators simply mount on one end of a fiber optic cable, allowing that cable to be plugged into the receiving equipment or panel.
There are also female to female (bulkhead) attenuators, often used to mount in patch panels or for connecting two fiber optic cables together. More expensive, but useful for testing, are variable attenuators which are adjustable between 1dB and 30dB.
Bear in mind that the dB ratings are a measure of signal strength and can sometimes be confusing. The chart below will give you an idea of the percent of attenuation of your signal for specific dB values.
Fiber optic attenuators are usually used in two scenarios.
The first case is in power level testing. Optical attenuators are used to temporarily add a calibrated amount of signal loss in order to test the power level margins in a fiber optic communication system. In the second case, optical attenuators are permanently installed in a fiber optic communication link to properly match transmitter and receiver optical signal levels.
How many types of Optical Attenuators (OA) can you find?
There are four different types of OA and they can take a number of different forms and are typically classified as fixed or variable attenuators. What’s more, they can be classified as LC, SC, ST, FC, MU, E2000 etc. according to the different types of connectors.
1. Fixed Attenuators: Fixed optical attenuators used in fiber optic systems may use a variety of principles for their functioning. Preferred attenuators use either doped fibers, or misaligned splices, or total power since both of these are reliable and inexpensive.
Inline style attenuators are incorporated into patch cables. The alternative build out style attenuator is a small male-female adapter that can be added onto other cables.
Non-preferred attenuators often use gap loss or reflective principles. Such devices can be sensitive to modal distribution, wavelength, contamination, vibration, temperature, damage due to power bursts, may cause back reflections, may cause signal dispersion etc.
2. Loopback Attenuators: Loopback fiber optic attenuator is designed for testing, engineering and the burn-in stage of boards or other equipment. Available in SC/UPC, SC/APC, LC/UPC, LC/APC, MTRJ, MPO for single mode application.
3. Built-in Variable Attenuators: Built-in variable optical attenuators may be either manually or electrically controlled. A manual device is useful for one-time set up of a system, and is a near-equivalent to a fixed attenuator, and may be referred to as an “adjustable attenuator”. In contrast, an electrically controlled attenuator can provide adaptive power optimization.
Attributes of merit for electrically controlled devices, include speed of response and avoiding degradation of the transmitted signal. Dynamic range is usually quite restricted, and power feedback may mean that long-term stability is a relatively minor issue.
The speed of response is a particularly major issue in dynamically reconfigurable systems, where a delay of one millionth of a second can result in the loss of large amounts of transmitted data.
Typical technologies employed for high-speed response include liquid crystal variable attenuator (LCVA), or lithium niobate devices.
There is a class of built-in attenuators that is technically indistinguishable from test attenuators, except they are packaged for rack mounting, and have no test display.
4. Variable Optical Test Attenuators: this type generally uses a variable neutral density filter. Despite the relatively high cost, this arrangement has the advantages of being stable, wavelength insensitive, mode insensitive, and offering a large dynamic range.
Other schemes such as LCD, variable air gap etc. have been tried over the years, but with limited success.
They may be either manually or motor control. Motor control gives regular users a distinct productivity advantage since commonly used test sequences can be run automatically.

The status of FTTH on USA: What to know about it?

Given the growing demand for data on both fixed and mobile networks and the big size of the USA market, there is continuous pressure for operators to invest in fiber networks and to push connectivity closer to consumers.
In recent years the United States has seen increased activity from regional players as well as the major telcos and cablecos. Much of this activity was stimulated by Google Fiber following its investments in a number of markets. Although Google Fiber (now managed through Alphabet’s Access unit) began scaling back its efforts in late 2016, the company’s legacy has been profound. It encouraged the major providers to reduce pricing for their similar offers, stimulated interest among municipal leaders, and highlighted the fact that haphazard and potentially duplicated fiber deployments are no effective substitute for municipally-led wholesale fiber infrastructure accessible to any provider.
Local networks supported by municipal governments have also sprung up despite the lobbying efforts of AT&T and Verizon aimed at preventing local competition. However, for their part AT&T and Verizon have both refocused efforts on FTTP rather than FTTN, looking at the benefits of current investments for decades to come. G.fast is also being rolled out, to a lesser degree, in areas where FTTP is less feasible, while a growing number of cablecos have also deployed and DOCSIS3.1.
In the United States, the largest fiber to the premises (FTTP) deployment to date is Verizon’s FiOS, which covers 32 million people in the Northeastern United States. Verizon is the only Regional Bell Operating Company thus far to deploy FTTP on a large scale.
Verizon’s initial FTTP offering was based on broadband passive optical network (BPON) technology. Verizon has already upgraded to Gigabit PON or GPON, a faster optical access technology capable of providing 1Gbit/s speeds to consumers.
Lightower has the second most available fiber network, with 19 million people in the Northeast and the Midwest. Frontier is available to 10 million people across the country, and Monmouth is available to 8 million people in New Jersey.
The biggest benefit of fiber is that it can offer much faster speeds over much longer distances than traditional copper-based technologies like DSL and cable. The actual service depends on the company providing the service, but in most cases, fiber is the best bang for the buck broadband and future-proof for as long as we can tell. Even if typical broadband speeds become 1000 times faster in 20 years, a single existing fiber-optic connection can still support it.

Why you use the unit "micron" in Fiber Optics?

The micrometer (μm) also commonly known as a micron, is an SI derived unit of length equaling 1×10−6 of a metre, that is, one millionth of a meter.
The micrometer is a common unit of measurement for wavelengths of infrared radiation as well as sizes of biological cells and bacteria, and for grading wool by the diameter of the fibers. The width of a single human hair ranges from approximately 10 to 200 μm. The first and longest human chromosome is approximately 10μm in length.
The term micron and the symbol μ were officially accepted for use in isolation to denote the micrometer in 1879, but officially revoked by the International System of Units (SI) in 1967.
This became necessary because the older usage was incompatible with the official adoption of the unit prefix micro-, denoted μ, during the creation of the SI in 1960. In the SI, the systematic name micrometer became the official name of the unit, and μm became the official unit symbol.
In American English the use of “micron” helps differentiate the unit from the micrometre, a measuring device, because the unit’s name in mainstream American spelling is a homograph of the device’s name. In spoken English, they may be distinguished by pronunciation, as the name of the measuring device is invariably stressed on the second syllable, whereas the systematic pronunciation of the unit name, in accordance with the convention for pronouncing SI units in English, places the stress on the first syllable.
The plural of micron is normally “microns”, though “micra” was occasionally used before 1950.
Microns and Fiber Optic
Microns are present in fiber optic. The two basic types of fiber are multimode and single mode. In these categories, fibers are identified by the diameters of their core and their cladding expressed in microns (one billionth of a meter), for example, multimode fiber of 50/125 microns. Most fibers have 125 microns of outer diameter (one micron is one millionth of a meter, and 125 microns is 0.0127 centimeters) barely a little larger than a human hair.
These terms refer to the diameter of microns of a fiber optic cable’s core and cladding.
The first set of numbers – 9, 50 and 62.5 refer to the diameter of the fiber cable’s core.
The second set of numbers – 125 refer to the diameter of the outside of the fiber cable’s cladding.
The cladding is a special coating that keeps the light from escaping the glass core.
9/125 refers to a single mode fiber cable. 50/125 and 62.5/125 refer to multimode fiber cable.
Conclusion
The answer is very simple. The microns are present in fiber optic because their small size, this way is easier to elaborate the cable and to adopt and standard for the entire world.

FAQ about Fiber Optics Outdoor Cable

Do you have questions about the fibre optics outdoor cabling? We have Q/A to assist you determining which type of cable may suit your needs.
If you are a contractor or a fibre optics installer this is a suitable first approach guide for determining your project. Let’s get started.
What is the fibre count?
The fibre count you deploy on day one depends on the number of connections you need to make or will expect to make in the future. It is always recommended to install the maximum number of fibres in the space you have available, to avoid costly civil works for upgrades in the future.
fiber-mart.com offers outdoors cables with fibre counts ranging from a single fibre to 144 fibres or more.
What optical fibre type: SM or MM? G632? OM4? 62.5/125µm (The question goes on…)
This varies a lot, you could check our article between the differences between SM and MM fibres,  then you need to check what kind of single mode fibre you need to use or multimode if the case. Remember, this is an economy and technical desition and it’s very important to decide from day one, it’s important to think in the future.
Loose tube or ribbon cable?
Loose tube cables are the most common outdoor cable design, featuring a central strength member, stranded buffer tubes containing loose optical fibres and fibre counts up to 144F (Can be more, for custom orders). This construction ensures installer familiarity and optimum splice performance, we even provide the necessary breakout kits for finishing your project.
In a ribbon cable, typically 12 fibres are encapsulated in an array (or ribbon) and multiple ribbons can then be stacked to achieve the required fibre count. Ribbon cables offer higher fibre counts and greater fibre density than any other outdoor cable.
What is a micro cable?
Micro cables are miniaturized stranded loose tube cables which offer an approximate 50% reduction in size, less than half a reduction in total weight, and 30% or more per-cable fibre density versus traditional loose tube cables.
Micro cables are installed in micro-ducts and enable re-utilisation of congested duct space, flexibly scalable capacity upgrades and innovative, cost-effective deployment techniques.
Do I need an armoured or dielectric cable?
Armor can be applied to a loose tube or ribbon cable for increased mechanical robustness and protection against rodents. It is a pre-requisite requirement when a cable is to be buried directly into the ground. A dielectric (metal-free) cable should be selected when it is deployed on or near high-voltage power lines, through dielectric armour options are available.
A Dielectric
Do I need a gel-filled or gel-free (dry) cable?
Traditionally, a gel was used inside buffer tubes to protect fibres from moisture, but thanks to advances in cable water-blocking technology, this messy element can now be eliminated. With no need to clean gel from fibres before splicing, gel-free cables enable fast and efficient splicing preparation and drive cost savings through the elimination of cleaning consumables.
You need to figure out this yourself, or we could do it for you! Just let us know your requirement and we could find a cable suitable for your needs.