Introduction to Fiber Optic Patch Cables

A fiber optic patch cord is a fiber optic cable capped at either end with connectors that allow it to be connected to telecommunication equipment. It has thick layer of protection which is used to connect the optical transmitter, receiver, and the terminal box.

Structure

A fiber patch cord refers to install connector plugs on both cable ends to implement the connection of optical path activities. One end with the plug is called pigtails. Fiber patch cords are similar to coaxial cable, but the former don't have mesh shields and the center is glass core for light propagation. In a multi-mode fiber, diameter of the core is 5µm ~ 65µm, which is roughly the thickness of a human hair. And the diameter of single-mode fiber core is 8µm ~ 10µm. In order to keep the fiber optic inside the core,the outside of the core is surrounded by a layer of glass envelope and the refractive index of it is lower than core.Then the outside is a thin plastic jacket to protect the envelope.

Classification

According to the different transmission media of fiber patch cord, they can be divided into common silicon-based single-mode optical fiber, multi-mode jumpers, as well as other patch cords such as the patch cord with plastic transmission medium.

Single mode fiber (as the picture below) is generally in yellow. The joint and protective case are blue. And the transmission distance is long.

Multi-mode fiber (as the picture below) is generally in orange, and some in gray. The joint and protective case are beige or black. And the transmission distance is shorter.

According to the connector structure, it can be divided into FC patch cord, SC patch cord, ST patch cord, LC patch cord, MTRJ patch cord, MPO patch cord, MU patch cord, SMA patch cord, FDDI patch cord, E2000 patch cord, DIN4 patch cord, D4 patch cords and many other forms. The common fiber patch cord can be divided into FC-FC, FC-SC, FC-LC, FC-ST, SC-SC, SC-ST and so on

Tips For Using

The sending and receiving wavelengths at both ends of the fiber patch cords in the transceiver module must be consistent with each other, which means both ends of the fiber must be the same wavelengths of transceiver module. A simple way to distinguish is that the color of the transceiver module must be consistent. In general case, short-wave optical module uses multi-mode fiber (orange fiber) and long wavelength module uses single-mode fiber (yellow fiber) to ensure the accuracy of data transmission.

Do not excessively bend and circle fibers, which will increase the light attenuation in the transmission process.

Fiber optic connectors must be protected with protective case after using. Because dust and oil will damage the fiber coupling.

If the fiber connector is dirty, it should be cleaned with a cotton swab and alcohol. Otherwise it will affect the quality of communication.

1,Before using, the ceramic ferrule and the end sides of fiber patch cords must be cleaned with alcohol and cotton.

2,When using, the fiber minimum bend radius is no shorter than 150mm.

3,Protecting the ferrule and ferrule end sides to prevent bumping and pollution. People should promptly wear the dust cap after disassembling.

4,Do not look into the fiber end sides during laser signals transmission.

5,Fiber patch cords must be replaced promptly after human factors or other force majeure factors.

6,Before installation, instructions must be carefully read. Installation and commissioning process must be with guidance of engineers of manufacturers or distributors.

7,If the fiber-optic network or system appears abnormal condition, troubleshooting method can be individually tested. You can do firstly the on-off test when testing or excluding the patch cords' fault. You can usually use visible laser pointer to do lighting judge for the entire fiber links, or further using the precision-grade optical fiber insertion loss return loss meter to test its targets. If the indicators are within the acceptable range, then the jumper indicating is normal, otherwise unqualified.

Features

1. Low insertion loss
2. Good repeatability
3. High return loss
4. Good mutual inserting performance
5. Excellent temperature stability
6. Good tensile strength properties

Application

Fiber Jumper products are widely applied to the communications room, fiber to the home, local area networks, fiber optic sensors, fiber optic communication systems, fiber optic transmission equipment connectors, defense readiness and so on. They are also applied to cable television, telecommunications networks, computer networks and fiber optical test equipment. They are mainly used in several ways specifically.

1. The optical fiber communication systems
2. Optical access network
3. Fiber optic data transmission
4. The optical fiber CATV
5. Local area network (LAN)
6. Test equipment
7. Fiber optic sensor

Selection Guide

According to the termination types, fiber patch cords can be divided to three types ST-ST, SC-SC, and ST-SC. There are mainly two kinds by category: single mode fiber and multi-mode fiber. Fiber patch cord's length specifications are 0.5m, 1m, 2m, 3m, 5m, 10m and so on. According to the outer sheath material of cable, it can be divided into ordinary types, common flame retardant, low smoke zero halogen (LZSH) and so on.

According to the fireproofing grade and fire-resistant material requirements of buildings, the entire cabling system should take appropriate measures. When laying cables or optical fiber cables in shafts of flammable regions and buildings, we should use flame retardant cable and fiber optic cable. In large public spaces we should use flame retardant, low smoke, low toxicity cable or fiber optic cable. Flame retardant wiring devices should be used in adjacent equipment or joint points.

The Difference Between FiberPatch Cord And Pigtail Fiber

Pigtail fiber is also called pigtail pigtail line, only one end connected to the head, while the other end is a cable core breakage. It is connected with other cable cores by welding and often appears in the fiber optic terminal box. It is used for connecting cable and fiber optic transceivers (also uses couplers, fiber jumpers, etc.)

The optical fiber connector is detachably (activity) connection device between the optical fibers. It makes the two end sides of the optical fiber dock precisely so that the light energy output by launching fiber can be coupled to the receiving fiber at the maximum. And at the same time,the effects on system will be minimized due to optical link's involvement, which is the basic demand of fiber optic connectors. To a certain degree, fiber optic connectors also affect the reliability and performance of the optical transmission system.

Polishing  Ways

After the symbol "/" means cross-sectional technology of fiber optic connectors, namely grinding way.

"PC" is widely used in the telecom operator's equipment. The joint cross section is flat. "PC" represents cross-sectional process of fiber connectors. PC is the most commonly used. In the broadcasting and early CATV, APC models are often used. The head of pigtail uses a belt angle (8 degrees) in end surface and the slope is generally hard to be seen, which can improve the quality of television signals. It's mainly because the TV signal is modulated by analog optics. When the joint coupling surface is vertical the reflecting light returns along the original path.Because of the uneven distribution of fiber index, it will again return to coupling surface. Although this time the energy is small the noise cannot be completely eliminated because of the analog signals, thus it means to superimpose a weak signal with time delay in the original clear signal. It is double image showed on the screen. Pigtail head with belt angle can make the reflecting light not return along the original path. Generally, the digital signals will not have this problem.

"SC" indicates that pigtail connector type is SC connector.The sidelight interface of transmission equipment is generally used with SC connector in industry. SC connector is made of engineering plastics. It can resist high temperature and cannot easily oxidized. ODF connector interface of sidelight is generally used FC. FC is with metal joint, but there will be no problem of high temperature of ODF, and in the meanwhile the pluggable times of metal interface are more than plastic interface, which leads to the fact that ODF pigtail is more frequently maintained than light board pigtail. Other common connector models are ST, DIN, and FDDI.

There is also a "UPC" technology. Its attenuation is smaller than the PC and it's generally used in equipment with special needs. The flange is generally FC/UPC. Foreign manufacturers just use FC/UPC in internal fiber jumper of ODF, which can improve the index of ODF equipment itself.