Interconnection of any data transmission media is a vital part of a data communication system, having a major effect on performance. Copper cables are widely using as guided transmission media which carry voltage pulses as data. Fiber Optics is different from copper cables because data transmit through it in the form of light signals. Thus the interconnection between fiber-optics and fiber-optic cables to any other light source or a device is much complex than interconnection between copper cables.
There are several types of optical fibers can be found in data communication field. Those are categorized basically the material and the process that used in manufacturing. Multi mode fibers and the single mode fibers are the main two classes and interconnect these types of cables depend on the category, application, and key features included in the particular fiber-optics. Same as most communication channels fiber optics also need both mechanical contact and termination of transmission medium. Any deviation in geometrical or optical parameters of connected two fibers may cause optical attenuation through the medium. Since it is not an easy task to perform interconnection in between fiber-optics and light sources.
Connecters are devices used to connect a fiber-optic cable to an optical fiber device, such as a detector, optical amplifier optical light power meter or link to another fiber cable. It provides optical and mechanical connection between two components. Those are designed to be easily and reliably connected and disconnected. Splices are used to permanently connect one fiber-optic cable to another. Splices are suitable for outdoor and indoor applications. A few of applications for fiber connecters and splices in fiber systems can be listed as follows.
Connecting between a pair of fiber cables.
Interfacing devices to local area networks.
Connecting and disconnecting fiber cables to patch panels where signals can be checked and routed in a fiber system.
Connecting and splicing may be required on short fiber cables for wiring, testing devices, connecting instruments and devices, and at other intermediate points between transmitters and receivers.
Dividing fiber system in to subsystems, which simplify the selection, installation, testing, and maintenance of a fiber system.
Temporally connecting remote mobile systems and recording equipment in many fiber systems.
Splices
A permanent joint in between two fibers in a transmission medium or a industrial level application is called fiber splice. Fiber splices are grouped in to three categories by considering the splicing technique utilized. Those are fusion splicing mechanical splicing and welding splicing.
Fusion splicing is accomplish by apply heat by electric arc or flame on top of the pre aligned and butted fiber ends so that those get soft and stick together. It is there for essential that the joint fibers a perfectly aligned and insertion loss is minimum to achieve good community through the transmission medium. Hence the two fiber ends are positioned well and clamp together before apply the heat. Well control electric arc technique is widely used and if not a microplsma torches are used.
Mechanical splicing is approached by kept two fiber ends in required position by using several kind of mechanism. This may be achieved by applying a tube around two fibers so that mechanical connection to be established and data transmission can be proceeding. This tube is accurately produced rigid tube to keep fiber end to perfectly bond each other. Other common method involved is use of grooves to secure the junction. A simple method is utilizing a V groove in to which the two prepared fiber ends are pressed.
All these methods are seeking for new productions and various kinds of approaches to reduce the insertion loss and the increase the joint performance.
Connecter Types
Fiber-optic connecters are unique in that they must make both optical and mechanical connections. They must also allow the fiber cables to be precisely aligned to ensure that a connection is robust. Fiber connecters use various methods to achieve solid connections. Some of the types of fiber-optic connecters currently in use are listed bellow.
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Figure .1: Fiber-optic connecters
FC Connecter
E2000 Connecter
ESCON Connecter
LC Connecter
LuxCis Connecter
MIC Connecter
MPO Connecter
MT-RJ Connecter
SC Connecter
SMA Connecter
ST Connecter
TOSLINK Connecter
FC Connecter
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Figure 2.1: FC Connecter
The physical appearance of FC connector is very similar to the coaxial cable connecter which has a threaded body. These types of connecters are designed for use in high-vibration environments that the interconnection between two components can be easily break. It is commonly used with both single-mode optical fiber and polarization-maintaining optical fiber. The FC connector has been standardized in Fiber Optic Connector Intermateability Standards. FC connectors are used telecommunications, measurement equipment, and single-mode lasers. They are becoming less common, displaced by SC and LC connectors.
The fiber end is embedded in a 2.5 mm ferrule made of ceramic or stainless steel. The nib is then polished to make sure that it is a round surface. This process is called "physical contact" polishing. Several grade of polishing can be there from manufacture to manufacturer, for example an FC connector may be designated "FC/PC" (here PC means Physical Contact), while "FC/SPC" and "FC/UPC" may denote "super" and "ultra" polish qualities, respectively. Higher statuses of polish give less insertion loss and lower back-reflection. This surface profile means that when the fibers are connected they touch only at their cores, which allowing transmission with low loss. The fibers are spring-loaded to control the force as the plug is screwed into the receptacle. A key prevents the fiber from rotating while the connectors are being connected.
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Figure .2: Internal parts of FC Connecter
E2000 Connecter
e2000 fiber optic connector
Figure .1: Two E2000 Connecters
E2000 fiber optic connectors are widely used in the communication scope because its good performance. E2000 is a trademark of Diamond Company and E2000 series include a wide range of different styles. Although E2000 is rather expensive than most of the other types fiber connectors, it indeed incorporate much modern technology to enhance the products performance, one of them is the E2000 featured Spring-loaded protective cap which provide increased safety protection.
E2000 fiber optic connectors and associated products comprise both single mode and multimode types. There are single mode E2000 UPC connector, single mode E2000 APC connector and multimode E2000 UPC connectors, and there are adapters to use with them accord
e2000 connector
ESCON Connecter
escon cable
Figure .1: ESCON Connecter connected to a fiber-optic
ESCON Connecter developed by IBM in the early 1990s and also known as Enterprise Systems Connection. It replaced the older, copper-based, parallel, Bus & Tag channel technique. These types of connecters are commonly used to connect mainframe computers to peripheral devices such as disk storage and tape drives.
ESCON is an optical fiber, half-duplex, serial interface. It originally operated at a rate of 10 Mbps, which was later increased to 17Mbps. ESCON allows the establishment and reconfiguration of channel connections dynamically, without having to take equipment off-line and manually move the cables. It also allows the distance between units to be extended up to 60 km over a dedicated fiber. ESCON switching has advantages over a collection of point-to-point links. A peripheral previously capable of accessing a single mainframe can now be connected simultaneously to up to eight mainframes, providing peripheral sharing.
fddi connector kit
LC Connecter
LC connector
Figure .1: Two LC Connecters
This type of optical fiber connecter is about half the size of the SC type optical fiber connector which has produced by borrowing features from the RJ 45 connector. Recognizing that fiber ferrule size was the limiting factor in fiber connection density, the LC connector was developed. Using a reduced-diameter, simplex fiber ferrules. Instead of the 2.5mm ferrule, the LC connector uses a 1.25mm cylindrical ferrule. The smaller ferrule allows for a smaller housing and thus a smaller connector. Small enough that two LC connectors yoked together take up about the same port space as an RJ-45.
The LC type optical fiber connector uses an RJ 45 type latching when properly mated produces an audible sound. Keying prevents rotational misalignment. LC type optical fiber connecters can be used in LAN, MAN, and WAN applications. Since the LC type optical fiber connecter fits into the RJ-45 footprint, updating equipment from copper to fiber is possible. This type optical fiber connectors offer excellent packaging density, exceptional performance and value.
LuxCi Connector
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LuxCis A new flexible and upgradable interconnect solution for Multi mode and Single mode fiber for MIL-AERO and harsh environment. The Radiall concept, original and simple, is based on the use of identical fiber optic termini contacts that can be inserted in either plug or receptacle cavities of multipin connectors (EPX, ARINC 600 and circular MIL-DTL-38999 series III). A removable sleeve-holder ensures fine alignment and centring of the LuxCis termini. This technology allows easy access to optical faces for inspection and cleaning operations.Miniature and robust, this new single channel connector is ideally suited for applications requiring single channel transmission in extreme environmental conditions, such as aerospace and military equipment or anywhere a robust fiber optic link is required.
The LxC-R® is qualified to withstand a high level of vibration and shock. Specifically designed to be compatible with the industry standard LuxCis Arinc 801 fiber optic contact, the LxC-R® is exceptionally reliable in terms of mechanical, environmental and optical performances. The flexibility of the LuxC is termini allows the use of either multimode or single mode fiber for both PC and APC terminations.
The range includes plugs, square flange and jam nut receptacles, as well as hermeti feedthroughs.
Main features and benifits:
Easy to install
simple jam nut coupling,no specific tool required Excellent optical performance Compatible with Arinc 801 LuxCis APC termini Hermetic feedthrough adaptor
for complete sealing protection, even when unmated Interfacial gasket
shell to shell sealing boot
environmental grommet, also guiding the fiber at the rear of the connector D-Hole receptacle with o'ring: for panel sealing Salt spray specifications
96H and 500H Two polarization keys: 90° or 120°
Plastic dust cap
Sealing boot panel o'ring
Interfacial gasket
Physical Contac alignment
APC Technology
MIC Connector
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MIC referred to Medium Interface Connector. A fiber-optic cable connector that handles a pair of cables. The design of the plug and socket ensures that the polarity is maintained (transmit and receive cables are in correct order). It is used in FDDI and a variety of LANs and wiring hubs.
MPO Connector
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MPO Fiber-optics refers to "Multi fiber Push On". Low loss single-mode MPO connectors deliver the performance and reliability needed in today's demanding high-speed broadband and data networks. Multimode Laser Wave MPO jumpers and fan-out are designed to support high-speed, short-reach, data center applications. The MPO Connector, with its familiar push-on/pull-off insertion release mechanism, provides consistent and repeatable interconnections with up to 12 fibers in a 0.7" x 0.4" minimum footprint. The MPO product family is available with 8 and 12 fiber connectors featuring bare ribbon, tight-buffered ribbon
and cordage, and includes standard adapters.
Applications
• Equipment Interconnections
• Telecommunications networks
• Broadband/CATV networks
• Data communications networks, including high-bandwidth
equipment
• Interconnections for parallel optical transmitters and
receivers
MT-RJ Connector
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MT-RJ stands for Mechanical Transfer Registered Jack. MT-RJ is a fiber-optic Cable Connector that is very popular for small form factor devices due to its small size. Housing two fibers and mating together with locating pins on the plug, the MT-RJ comes from the MT connector, which can contain up to 12 fibers. The MT-RJ is commonly used for networking applications. Its size is slightly smaller than a standard phone jack and just as easy to connect and disconnect. It's half the size of the SC Connector it was designed to replace.
Features:
• TIA/EIA 568-A compliant
• Precision molded MT ferrule
• Duplex ferrule
• High precision guide pins for exact alignment
• Polishing does not require diamond film
• Plug-jack (RJ-45) design
Applications
• CATV, and Multimedia
• Gigabit Ethernet
• Industrial and medical
• Asynchronous Transmission Mode (ATM)
• Active device interface
• Interconnection for O/E modules
• Premise installations
• Telecommunication networks
• Data processing networks
• Optical switch interframe connection
SC Connector
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The SC Connector Product is a robust optical connector designed to support Telecom and Datacom networks. The connector family includes but not limited to connectors, adapters, attenuators, modular adapters, jumpers, an assortment of connector modules and panels, and installation tool kits and consumable kits. The OFS SC Connector is a push-pull connector that uses 4-position tuning, which can be accomplished by simply rotating the grip 90 degrees. This high performance SC connector is versatile for both single mode and multimode applications.
Family of SC Connectors
SC Jumper Connectors:
Robust family of connectors designed to mount on 1.6 - 3.0 mm fiber cordage and intended to meet the Telcordia GR-326-CORE, Issue 3, for Type I Media (reinforced jumper cordage).
SC BTW Connectors:
SC connectors designed for 900 micron buffered fiber. This product is intended to meet
Telcordia GR-326-CORE, Issue 3 for Type II Media (900 micron buffered fiber).
SC Jumpers:
Connectorized 1.6mm and 3.0mm cordage in various lengths and fiber counts. Jumpers are
produced in a vast array of hybrid configurations allowing interconnection between SC based product and other connector styles. These products are intended to meet Telcordia GR-326-CORE, Issue 3 for Type I Media.
SC Adapters:
Two-port configuration for joining two SC connectors. The adapter contains the alignment sleeve for the precise alignment of the connector ferrules. Available in simplex, duplex and higher density configurations based on application needs. See also 0dB Modular Adapters.
SC Modular Adapters & Attenuators:
Attenuator products are configured as a Build-On style or a Modular Adapter. The Type II Modular Adapters consist of single port adapters configured from 2 parts a base and a cap.
Two bases are available SC or ST? . The cap is available in 3 connector versions, SC, ST and FC and in 0-dB and attenuated values. Build-On Attenuators are one-piece designs that combine an SC Connector on one end and an adapter on the other, and are available in several attenuation values. Each attenuator product reduces optical power internally.
SC-LC Converter:
The "in-line" converter is a combination of an SC connector and an LC receptacle. This
essentially allows an LC connector to mated into an SC adapter.
