First, let's understand why a fiber optic connector needs cleaning.

You may never need to clean the RJ45 connector for your computer's Ethernet network connection, then why do you need to clean a fiber optic connector if it serves the same purpose as a networking connection?

While, the answer lies in how optics work differently than electronics. In electronics, as long as you have a contact between two connectors, they work perfectly; or at least most of the time.

But for optics, light beams travel in straight lines, they bounce off whenever they hit anything and thus loss their energy.

So in order for a light beam to carry the information signal and travel thousands of miles of optical fiber, its path must be kept crystal clear, including fiber optic connectors in the network.

What part of a fiber optic connector should be cleaned, exactly?

OK. Now comes the critical part. What part in the fiber connector needs cleaning, exactly? The short answer is the ferrule's body and its end face. But what exactly is a ferrule?

Ferrule is a cylindrical and also the most critical part in an optical fiber connector. It is usually made from stainless steel or Zirconia.

Zirconia is a type of white colored ceramic which is an extremely refractory material. It offers chemical and corrosion inertness to temperatures well above the melting point of alumina. Zirconia is the preferred material for high quality fiber optic ferrules.

Ferrules have a tiny hole in the center which holds optical fiber in place. Then the fiber is scribed and precisely polished to flush with the end face of the ferrule.

Two fiber connectors can then mate to each other with a mating sleeve. When mated, two ferrules' end faces contact each other perfectly and thus pass light from one fiber to another.

Ferrules get dirty from dust, stain and debris made by constant plugging and unplugging after having been used for a while. These contaminations will block the light path and thus seriously reduce the light power and may disable the network connection.

Is there only one method for fiber connector cleaning?

There are many different ways to clean a fiber optic connector. They are not exclusive but rather complementary to each other. When one method failed, you can always try another method. And that is why there are so many fiber optic supplies for cleaning fiber connectors available on the market.

1. Air spray. Air dusters are used to blow loose particles from optical fiber connector end face. Optic grade is more expensive. Air spray is a non-abrasive fiber optic cleaning method.

2. Lint-free wipes with isopropyl alcohol. The operator folds the lens paper (such as the lint free wipes) into 4~6 layers and lay it flat on a table. He then holds the connector vertically straight and cleans the end face in figure 8 motion.

3. Reel fiber optic connector cleaners. Connector reel cleaner is a dry cleaning method with a quick, reliable operation and uniform results. They use 2 micrometer weaved polyester cloth to clean optical fiber connectors. This is an abrasive fiber optic cleaning method but pad underneath cleaning cloth mitigates this significantly.

4. Stick or swab type cleaners. These specially built Cletop sticks come in 2.5mm and 1.25mm versions. They are designed for dry cleaning fiber optic connector mating sleeves, bulkhead adapters and receptacles.

5. In-situ cleaning. This semi-automated fiber optic cleaning method is specially designed for fiber optic connectors plugged in patch panels and hardware devices.

6. Pre-saturated or soaked wipes. Pre-saturated wipes are good for cleaning glass fiber or connector end faces. They are available in a convenient pre-saturated towelette. The towels are durable and non-linting. Pre-saturated wipes are a convenient option for field use.

eFiberTools.com has many fiber optic consumables that can help you in keeping your connectors clean. As Well as a great product line of Fiber Optic Connectors, Patchcords and Adapters.

As all of our customers know we are suppliers of fiber optic test and measurement equipment, today we would like to announce that we have become a distributor for Yokogawa OTDRs. The AQ7275 is an optical time domain reflectometer that measures optical fiber lengths and losses and identifies failure locations. It is mainly used in the optical fiber installation and maintenance servicing of access networks (communications links between telephone exchanges and telephone poles) and user networks (communications links between user sites and telephone poles). The light source and optical power monitor functions can also be used as options.

We have been a distributor for Noyes and TSH OTDRs and now are extremely excited to offer the addition of Yokogawa OTDRs to efibertools' product line.

The Yokogawa AQ7275 Series OTDR comes with many different options to fit your job and your budget. Travis goes onto say "We didn't want to carry just one version of the OTDR we wanted to give our customer the choice of which one would fit their needs."

The standard version is the 735032 - 1310/1550nm Standard model for installation and maintenance of FTTH and it starts at around $6700 very reasonable from such a reputable company.

View the full line of Yokogawa AQ7275 OTDRs

Contact:

Travis Worden of eFibertools.com
Phone: 623-582-5560
Fax: 623-434-8351
E-mail: travis@efibertools.com

Although the turn out for the OFC/NFOEC convention seemed a little less than last year we thought that the event was still a positive one.  We wanted to thank everyone who joined us at the eFiberTools.com Booth. It seemed that there were alot of key decision makers were in attendance.

There were many events that showcased new products and we look forward to later posting all of the pictures from the eFIberTools.com Booth and the show floor!

Look for these in the coming days!!

eFiberTools.com Staff

Over $ 7 Billion in The Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) is up for grabs from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the USDA Rural Utilities Services (RUS) for organizations that meet all the requirements and the deadline.

Requirements include showing what social benefits will be achieved as related to promoting increased computer usage in low income households, economic development of unserved or underserved areas, increasing the availability of healthcare or any of the many other social benefits that the broadband stimulus package is intended to nurture.

Another important qualifier is speed. With a minimum 3 megabits per second (Mbps) down to the subscriber and approximately a 1 Mbps uplink from the subscriber, WiMAX becomes an attractive choice.

Don’t forget the deadline. With only 18 months to address network planning, Rights of Way issues, and the application process 18 months begins to seem a little rushed. With less network planning necessary, less rights of way issues to negotiate and an online application for the spectrum license from the Federal Communications Commission, WiMAX reduces time for each of these stages and you should have your license in about four weeks if applying for the lightly populated 3.65ghz spectrum.

There are even more advantages to WiMAX like faster speed of deployment, A WiMAX base station could be Installed and tested in less than a week.  Assuming a maximum range of five miles, this equals a coverage zone of almost 80 square miles from one base station in one day. No wired technology can be rolled out this fast. Also Wireless backhaul can eliminate negotiations with a less than enthusiastic incumbent service provider, also increasing speed of deployment. And lets not forget the faster return on investment you’ll see by avoiding conventional fiber roll-out using aerial or burial delivery methods.

There has not been any trend so opportune to the telecommunications market since the Telecommunications Act of 1934.

In conclusion the decreased logistic requirements of planning and development with WiMAX make it the preferred technology to meet the list of technical requirements for the loans and grants available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

We will be attending the 2009 BICSI Winter Conference & Exhibition which is the place to learn from a cross section of top instructors and industry experts. See all of the state-of-the-art exhibits showcasing the latests products and services.

Visit us at Booth 410

BICSI Winter Conference & Exhibition.

January 18-22, 2009
Rosen Shingle Creek Resort
Orlando, Florida, USA

Will you or your company be attending the expo? Leave us a comment that you will be there.

(courtesy of Lightwave and Pennwell - If any errors click to read this one)

Story by Patrick J. Sims and Pat Thompson of ADC

Service providers need not look too far in the past to find examples of networks built without consideration for future technologies. While our telecommunications forefathers may not have predicted today's broadband revolution as they designed the copper telephone network, this legacy infrastructure still enabled a rough deployment of xDSL technologies.

However, the unpredictable performance of xDSL over load coils, splices, varying gauges and conditions of the legacy copper network produced costly lessons in the importance of network flexibility. Fiber to the premises (FTTP), by contrast, enables service providers to deploy new subscribers with a "clean slate."

As many sources predicted, GPON now promises to dominate the access market by offering a bandwidth boost and enabling higher split ratios. GPON's entry as the "latest and greatest" PON flavor also coincides with challenges service providers face in delivering high-speed, high-bandwidth packaged services to business and residential customers. The pressure is on for providers to make their networks GPON-ready from the central office (CO) to the outside plant (OSP).

Migration-ready PON

There are several critical parameters to consider when designing a PON for ease of migration to GPON, including fiber-optic cable characteristics, optics classes, and split ratio implications. When increasing split ratios from 1×32 to 1×64 or even higher, for example, spectral attenuation will become an important factor. Optical link budgets are determined by the individual vendor's active components—PON chips within the electronics, lasers, and receivers. The loss range for each class is as follows:

Class A: Min. 5 dB to max. 20 dB

Class B: Min. 10 dB to max. 25 dB

Class B+: Min. 10 dB to max. 28 dB

Class C: Min. 15 dB to max. 30 dB

Connectorization also plays a huge role in a migration-ready FTTP network. With the addition of next-generation video requirements, GPON systems will likely require higher power, necessitating the superior performance of angled physical contact (APC) connectors—particularly in the PON portion. The APC connector is the best choice for high-bandwidth applications and long-haul links since it offers the lowest return loss characteristics of any connector currently on the market.

In an APC connector, the end-face of a termination is polished precisely at an eight-degree angle to the fiber cladding to reflect most of the return loss into the cladding where it cannot interfere with the transmitted signal or damage the laser source. As a result, APC connectors offer a superior return loss performance of –65 dB. For nearly every application, APC connectors offer the optical return loss performance that broadcasters require to maintain optimum signal
integrity.

Systems should also ensure built-in laser safety features for use in networks with Class B and C lasers. Laser safety must be considered with high-power lasers typically used in the analog video optical line terminal (OLT). Since infrared lasers are not visible to the human eye, it's important to take precautions when exposure is possible. Fiber distribution frames need to have built-in laser eye safety features—features that ensure connectors don't point directly at technicians. Designs that have connector ports contained within a tray or other enclosure and pointing side to side—rather than straight out of the panel—help protect technicians, regardless of their level of training or awareness.

Advantage of centralized splitters

The ease of migration from earlier PON architectures to GPON will be dependent on the design of the fiber distribution portion of the network or the link between customers and the central office. This refers mainly to the splitter configuration and how efficiently each OLT card is used.

The two common splitter approaches are centralized and distributed or cascaded configurations. The centralized splitter approach uses 1×32 splitters in OSP enclosures, such as fiber distribution terminals. Each splitter is connected to an OLT in the central office with 32 split fibers routed from the optical splitter through distribution panels, splice points, and/or access point connectors to the optical network terminals (ONTs) at 32 homes.

The distributed or cascaded splitter approach is typically configured with a 1×4 splitter residing in the OSP enclosure and connected directly to an OLT in the central office. Each of the four fibers leaving the 1×4
splitter is routed to an access terminal housing another splitter,
either a 1×4 or 1×8. Optimally, there would eventually be 32 fibers
reaching the ONTs of 32 homes.

A centralized approach offers several advantages in terms of flexibility. First, it maximizes the efficiency of expensive OLT cards. A cascaded architecture will strand unused ports in areas of low take rates or where customer premises are not grouped tightly together. Other advantages to a centralized splitter architecture include easier access for testing and troubleshooting (it's very difficult for an OTDR to "see" down individual fiber lengths through a series of splitters) and a reduction in splitter signal loss by eliminating extra splices and/or connectors in the distribution network.

More importantly, however, a centralized splitter configuration provides the best means to futureproof the network by offering the flexibility to migrate to next-generation PON technologies, such as GPON, particularly with the likelihood of increasing split ratios from 32 to 64 or higher.

Implications of split ratios

Since much of the GPON standard already revolves around centralized 1×32 splitter architectures in the OSP, GPON's ability to enable 1×64 splits is a huge benefit—servicing twice the homes from a single splitter. However, upgrading a cascaded architecture to a 1×64 centralized architecture will involve significant investment and deployment of additional fiber to take advantage of the full capabilities of GPON.

A network built with the minimum number of connections, including splitter ports, will minimize optical loss while maintaining the flexibility necessary to ensure that equipment and customer churn can be quickly and cost-effectively accomplished. Splitter loss depends mainly on the number of output ports. Each splitter configuration is assigned a particular maximum split ratio loss, including connectors, defined by the ITU G.671 standard and Telcordia GR-1209.

Since the GPON standards have not yet defined the current split ratio maximum for 1×64 splitters, network designers must use a single 1×2 splitter interfacing two 1×32 splitters to make up the 1×64 configuration. Although this is allowable with today's packaging, using Class B optics leaves only 5.35 dB of "head room." Therefore, even with the best fiber manufactured, where the spectral attenuation is 0.31 dB per km, only a 17.25-km PON network is achievable without including any of the connectors within the CO or the splices in the OSP.

Still, the design engineer does have some options. In designing the network,premium splitters and low-loss connectors can be deployed, and fusion splices must be kept well below 0.05 dB of loss per splice. These and other techniques will be used until the standards line up with the technology for 1×64 and higher split ratios. In any case, it is easy to see that moving to a 1×64 split ratio from an existing centralized configuration will offer the best flexibility, easier test access, and the greatest overall cost efficiencies in most FTTP applications.

GPON-ready: From CO to OSP

Within the CO, flexibility is the key. A network should never be built for a single application. Rather, it should be built as a flexible long-term network that can adapt to changes in equipment and technology. A crossconnect network offers excellent flexibility for configuration points. The output connector side is an important consideration and should include high-quality connectors that can accommodate higher power. Again, as optical output levels increase, APC will offer both flexibility and adaptability in a migration to GPON technology.

Cable management is critical in the CO, particularly bend radius protection. Serving more and more subscribers requires careful consideration of loss budgets and physical fiber management methods that protect the optical signal from any degradation. The CO considerations for GPON can be summarized in three words: flexibility, quality, and protection.

The same architectural principles for the CO can be applied to the OSP portion of the network to ensure a smooth migration to GPON; the emphasis should be on centralized splitting. As described earlier, it's much easier to upgrade to a higher split ratio from a centralized approach than a cascaded approach. There is some serious doubt as to whether cascaded systems can even be converted to GPON without significant expense and overhaul.

The selection of connectors in the OSP is another important element to GPON upgrades. Some vendors may tell customers that APCs are too expensive and not necessary for GPON networks. That may have been true at the onset, but the economies of scale in recent years have resulted in SC/APC becoming more cost effective.

The trend toward pushing fiber all the way to the customer premise has established the need for high-performance hardened APCs that can
withstand the rigors associated with OSP implementation. Connectors must perform in severe environments and varying temperature extremes. Today, cost-effective APCs are available and specifically designed to meet the highest OSP performance standards—minimizing loss budgets and mitigating reliability issues such as endface geometry and temperature variation.

While service providers strive to meet the challenges of upgrading their FTTP networks to GPON, equipment vendors should seek to make any migration as seamless as possible. Flexibility is always the key to achieving upgrades as easily, quickly, and painlessly as possible.

Patrick J. Sims em>, RCDD, is a senior principal systems engineer for ADC and serves as a board member of the FTTH Council. He is responsible for project management and operations of network design and systems integration for ADC's OmniReach fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) solutions.
Pat Thompson is program manager for central office fiber products in ADC's GlobalConnectivity Solutions Group. He has worked with service providers around the world to design, engineer, and manage fiber-optic networks.

Now this is exciting - 0.01dB loss

I guess there's no longer a reason to waste your money on a more expensive unit when you can purchase a Jilong KL-300 with US support and a 2 year warranty for almost half the price of a Fujikura. If you really want to drop your splicer on a soft 1 1/2" padded mat from 30" then go with the Fujikura 60s. If you want to save over $8000.00 then buy a Jilong KL-300.

Despite the current economy it seems that fiber optic businesses are still moving forward.

If you are in the fiber optic field, we would like to hear your comments on how the economy is affecting your business.

Nanjing Jilong Optical Communication Co., Ltd is a high -tech enterprise that specializes in developing and producing Fusion Splicers, Fiber Cleavers, OTDRs, Light Sources, Fiber Connectors, Power Meters and Optical Coupler Manufacturing Systems etc. The KL Series fusion splicer developed by Jilong has independent intellectual property rights on designing software and hardware. Jilong Company developed the first automatic fusion splicer in China in 1993 and the first fusion splicer with simultaneous display of X-axis and Y-axis in China in 2000. With over ten years of abundant experience in developing and producing fusion splicers, Jilong Company is the supreme manufacturer of fusion splicers in China.  eFiberTools.com has become the exclusive North American Distributor for Jilong Optical.  “We feel this is a great partnership with a company that has new found staying power in the fiber optic industry.  Every year they work on introducing the industry with new Optical Splicers.” Daniel Parsons President & CEO eFiberTools.com.

This year Jilong Optical has introduced the KL-300 which eFiberTools.com is proud to carry.

“The KL-300 fiber optic fusion splicer made by Jilong Communication is a solid reliable addition to any technician’s tooling.  In side by side specification comparisons the KL comes up first in more categories than the big three Fujikara, Fitel, and Sumitomo.  The 300 triumphs in attributes like a 42 second splice/shrink cycle time, the second highest magnification on the market and lighter in weight than all other standard fusion splicers.

The KL-300 stands out even more with features that can’t be weighed & measured and put into a chart. Each and every time you interact with this machine you will appreciate features like a brightly lit fusion fusion area, the largest screen on the market, a high resolution graphical user interface, easy to interpret universal buttons and “frustration free” menu navigation.” eFiberTools.com

Development Process of Jilong Optical Splicer
● 1993, produced Chinese first automatic fusion splicer: KL-100.
● 1994, produced fusion splicer: KL-150.
● 1995，produced fusion splicer: KL-160.
●  1997, produced fusion splicer: KL-170.
●  1998, produced fusion splicer: KL-190
●  1999, produced fusion splicer: KL-170A.
●  2000, produced the first KL-200（horizontal）fusion splicer with simultaneously display of X-axis and Y-axis and the annual sales amount exceeded 100 sets.
●  2001, produced KL-200（vertical）fusion splicer
●  2002，produced fusion splicer: KL-180.
●  2003，produced fusion splicer: KL-200A.and KL-190A
●  2004，produced fusion splicer: KL-260
●  2005，produced fusion splicer: KL-260A.and KL-260B
●  2006，produced fusion splicer: KL-260C and the annual sales amount exceeded 1000 sets.
●  2008，produced fusion splicer: KL-300 and the annual sales amount exceeded 2000 sets.

(courtesy of Lightwave - Pennwell)

Photop Technologies Inc. has announced a high-performance DQPSK demodulator, the newest addition to its 40G component families. The product is sampling to customers now, the company says.

This optical DQPSK demodulator is based on Photop's patented Free Space Micro Optics Block (FSMOB) technology, which enables low cost, compact size, and high performance and reliability, according to Photop.

Photop will demonstrate the demodulator at the FTTH Conference & EXPO (Booth #1432) and ECOC (Booth #601). 

Photop has also leveraged the FSMOB technology into other high end product including a highly integrated EDFA gain block, tunable interleaver, multi-function dispersion management modules, etc., which the company asserts have exhibited high performance and compact size.

Note:
- eFiberTools
Photop we will see you there! We will be at FTTH Conference & EXPO (Booth #317).