Fiber Optic Cable and Connector Cleaning Guide

Why Is Fiber Optics Cleaning Important? 

Reliable and efficient fiber installations are critical to the high performance network. Cleaning fiber optic components is essential for quality connections between fiber optic equipment. It is one of the most basic and important procedures for the maintenance of fiber optic systems, because any contamination in the fiber optic connection will cause failure of the component or failure of the whole system. Some basic cleaning procedures for fiber optic cable and connector will be described in this article.

Fiber Optic Connector Cleaning Steps

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.

Dry cleaning: Using a reel-based cassette cleaner (see the picture below) with medium pressure, wipe the connector end face against a dry cleaning cloth (single swipe per exposure) in one direction. For angled physical contact (APC) polished connectors, ensure that the entire end face surface mates with the cleaning cloth. Dry cleaning will generally remove airborne contamination and should be attempted first. Inspect the connector end face for contamination after cleaning.

Step 3: Inspect the connector.

Step 4: If the connector is still dirty, repeat the dry cleaning technique.

Step 5: Inspect the connector.

Step 6: 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.

Wet cleaning: Lightly moisten a portion of a lint free wipe with fiber optic cleaning solution (or > 91% Isopropyl Alcohol) and applying medium pressure, first wipe the end face against the wet area and then onto a dry area to clean potential residue from the end face. For APC polished connectors, ensure that the entire end face surface mates with the cleaning wipes. Wet cleaning is more aggressive than dry cleaning, and will remove airborne contamination as well as light oil residue and films.

Step 7: Inspect the connector again.

Step 8: If the contaminate still cannot be removed, repeat the cleaning procedure until the end face is clean.

Note: Never use alcohol or wet cleaning without a way to ensure that it does not leave residue on the end face. Or it will cause equipment damage.

Fiber Optic Patch Cords Cleaning Steps

Step 1: Make sure that the lasers are turned off before you begin the inspection.

Warning: Invisible laser radiation might be emitted from disconnected fibers or connectors. Do not stare into beams or view directly with optical instruments.

Step 2: Remove the protective end cap and store it in a small resealable container.

Step 3: Inspect the connector with a fiberscope.

Step 4: If the connector is dirty, clean with a cartridge or pocket cleaner.

Reminder: For cartridge cleaners, press down and hold the thumb lever. The shutter slides back and exposes a new cleaning area. For pocket cleaners, peel back protective film for one cleaning surface. For manual advance cleaners, pull on the cleaning material from the bottom of the device until a new strip appears in the cleaning window.

Step 5: Hold the fiber tip lightly against the cleaning area.

Reminder: For single, non−APC fiber connectors, rotate the fiber once through a quarter turn, 90 degrees. For APC connector end faces, hold cleaning area at the same angle as the end face.

Step 6: Pull the fiber tip lightly down the exposed cleaning area in the direction of the arrow or from top to bottom.

Warning: Do not scrub the fiber against the fabric or clean over the same surface more than once. This can potentially contaminate or damage your connector.

Step 7: Release the thumb lever to close the cleaning window, if you use cartridge type cleaners.

Step 8: Inspect the connector again with the fiberscope.

Step 9: Repeat the inspection and cleaning processes, as necessary.

Warning: Throw away any used cleaning material, either cards or material cartridges, after use.

Summary

As cleaning is important for fiber optic network, choose the suitable cleaning tools for the fiber optic connectors and fiber optic patch cords would be significant. Fiberstore has various fiber optic cleaning tools, such as pen cleaner, cassette cleaner, etc. All of these cleaning tools are with high quality and reasonable price. Moreover, most of them are in stock. You can enjoy the same day shipping after order. Contact sales@fs.com or visit www.fs.com for more detailed information.

Article source: www.fiberopticshare.com/fiber-optic-cable-and-connector-cleaning-guide.html

Things You Should Know about Fiber Optic Connector Polishing

Optical fiber is utilized for high-speed and error-free data transmission across connector assemblies. So the connector end faces need to be polished to optimize performance. And also the connectors must follow acceptance criteria related to insertion and back reflection loss as well as end-face geometry specifications. This article will talk about the fiber optic connectors polishing.

Polishing Process 

 

Early physical contact connectors required spherical forming of their flat end faces as part of the polishing procedure. It involved a four-step process: epoxy removal, ferrule forming, and preliminary and final polishing. These steps utilized aggressive materials for epoxy removal and ferrule forming, generally accomplished with diamond polishing films. Now the polishing process has developed into a sequence of epoxy removal, followed by rough, intermediate and final polishing cycles because almost all connectors are manufactured with a pre-radiused end face. One goal is to avoid excessive disruption of the spherical surface, while still producing a good mating surface.

Polishing Specifications

 

Polishing specifications for fiber connectors fall into two categories related to performance and end-face geometry. Back reflection and insertion loss specifications are the most critical measures of polished end functionality. The insertion loss is the amount of optical power lost at the interface between the connectors caused by fiber misalignment, separation between connections (the air gap) and the finish quality of each connector end. The current standard loss specification is less than 0.5 dB, but less than 0.3 dB is increasingly specified. Back reflection is the light reflected back through the fiber toward the source. High back reflection can translate to signal distortion and, therefore, bit errors in systems with high data transfer rates.

Polishing Material

 

Today several types of connectorized fibers are available, the most common of which are 2.5 mm, 1.25 mm and multifiber. Connector end faces must first be air-polished to ensure a proper mating surface. This will be followed by a sequence of polishing steps depending on the type of connector, the back reflection and the insertion loss specifications. Regardless of the connector type, most polishing sequences begin with aggressive materials, including silicon carbide to remove epoxy and diamond lapping films for beginning and intermediate polishing. These remove both surrounding material and fiber at the same rate. But the last polishing step needs a less aggressive material to attack only the fiber, such as silicon dioxide. Using a material for final polishing that is too aggressive could result in excessive undercut. The wrong final-polish material can cause excessive protrusion, leading to fiber chipping and cracking during the connector mating process.

Impact Factor

 

Issues to be examined include the polishing films used, the type of epoxy and lubrication. Films are the most significant impact because the gradations and quality vary from supplier to supplier. End users should pay attention on selecting film type. Excessively aggressive films can destroy a 125-μm fiber and the end-face radius. Epoxy removal is also essential to contamination-free polishing. Some types of epoxies can be removed more easily with specific grades of silicon-carbide polishing films. The films to use in this step depend on the size of the epoxy bead mounted on the connector end face and the epoxy type. Epoxies have different varieties. Some will be tacky, some firm. In all, a contamination-free environment is essential to optimizing connector polishing.

Polishing may be an old art form, but for the immediate future, it’s here to stay. Undoubtedly inspection criteria will increase. Polishing procedures will be driven to change, and new connector style will also make us continuously strive to reinvent our approach to polishing. Fiberstore has various products about fiber optic polishing. For more details, please visit FS.COM.

Article source: www.fiber-optic-components.com/things-your-should-know-about-fiber-optic-connector-polishing.html