Connectors & Panels

Introduction
 A significant factor in any fiber optic system
installation is the requirement to interconnect
fibers in a low loss manner

 Generally interconnections occur at the

optical source, at the photodetector, at
intermediate points within a cable where two
fibers are joined and at an intermediate link
where two links are connected.
 Introduction contd..,
 The particular technique selected for joining
the fibers depends on whether a permanent
bond or an temporary bond is required.
 A permanent bond is generally referred to as a
splice where as a temporary or demountable
join is known as connector.
 An optical fiber connector terminates the
end of an optical fiber, and enables quicker
connection and disconnection than splicing.
 Connector
 The connector aligns the core of the two
fibers so that light can pass, and provides a
mechanical coupling to hold it together.
 Connectors are used to join fibers with
minimal loss.
 A variety of optical fiber connectors are
available.
 The main difference between connectors is
in the dimensions and the mechanical
coupling.
 Parts of Optical Connector
 Different connector types have
different characteristics, different
advantages and disadvantages, and
different performance parameters. But
all connectors have the same four
basic components. 
 Ferrule
 Connector Body
 Cable
 Coupling Device
 Ferrule
 The most critical part, where the fiber is
mounted, is the ferrule.
 Ferrule is a long, thin cylinder with the
fiber mounted in the center hole.
 The center hole is sized to match fiber's
cladding diameter which is usually 125um.
 Fiber connector ferrules are made from
several types of materials including
ceramic, stainless steel and plastic.
 Ferrule
 The ferrule's job is to center and align the
fiber and protects it from mechanical
damage.
 The end of fiber is at the end of the ferrule,
where the fiber end is polished smooth either
flat or with a curvature.
 The ferrule is mounted in the connector body
and then the connector body is attached to
the fiber optic cable structure.
 Finally, a strain-relief rubber boot protects
the connector-cable junction.
 SC Connector
 Although the mechanical design varies a lot among
different connector types, the most common
elements in a fiber connector can be summarized
in the following picture.
 The example shown is a SC (Subscription Channel)
connector which was developed by NTT (Nippon
Telegraph and Telephone) of Japan.
SC Connector Structure
 Elements in a SC
Connector
1. The fiber ferrule:
 SC connector is built around a long

cylindrical 2.5mm diameter ferrule, made of

ceramic or metal (stainless alloy).
 A 124~127um diameter high precision hole

is drilled in the center of the ferrule, where

stripped bare fiber is inserted through and
usually bonded by epoxy or adhesive.
 The end of the fiber is at the end of the

ferrule, where it typically is polished smooth.

 Elements in a SC
Connector
2. The connector sub-assembly body.
 The ferrule is then assembled in the SC

sub-assembly body which has mechanisms

to hold the cable and fiber in place.
 The end of the ferrule protrudes out of the

sub-assembly body to mate with another

SC connector inside a mating sleeve (also
called adapter or coupler).
 Elements in a SC
Connector
3. The connector housing
 Connector sub-assembly body is then assembled

together with the connector housing.

 Connector housing provides the mechanism for

snapping into a mating sleeve (adapter) and hold the

connector in place.
4. The fiber cable
 Fiber cable and strength member (aramid yarn or

Kevlar) are crimped onto the connector sub-

assembly body with a crimp eyelet.
 Elements in a SC
Connector
 This provides the strength for mechanical
handing of the connector without putting
stress on the fiber itself.
5. The stress relief boot:
 Stress relief boot covers the joint between

connector body and fiber cable and

protects fiber cable from mechanical
damage.
 Stress relief boot designs are different for

different cables.
 Mating Sleeves
 Unlike most electronic connectors, fiber
optic connectors usually do not have the
male-female polarity.

 Most fiber connectors are male only.

 fiber connectors mate to each other in

fiber adapters, which are often called
mating sleeves or coupling receptacles.
 Mating Sleeves contd..,
 At the center of the adapter there is a
cylindrical sleeve made of  ceramic or
phosphor bronze.
 Ferrules slide into the sleeve and mate
to each other.
 The adapter body provides mechanism
to hold the connector bodies such as
snap-in, push-and-pull, twist-on or
screwed-on.
 Mating Sleeves contd..,
 Fiber optic adapters used to mate different
connector types such as a FC connector to
a SC connector are called hybrid adapters.
 The example shown below are FC
connectors with a screwed-on mechanism.

FC Connectors Mating
 Mating Sleeves contd..,

SC Mating Sleeve FC Mating Sleeve ST Mating Sleeve

SMA Mating Sleeve

 Parts of Optical Connector
 The following figure illustrates the parts of
optical connector.
Connector
 Connector
 Different connectors are available and each have
their advantages.
 For example, ST connectors are a good choice for
easy field installations;
 the FC connector has a floating ferrule that
provides good mechanical isolation;
 the SC connector offers excellent packing
density, and its push-pull design resists fiber end
face contact damage during unmating and
remating cycles.
 Except for special applications, the most
commonly used, readily available and cost
effective connector is the "ST" connector.
Connectors
 ST (Straight Tip
Connector)
 ST connector – simplex only (single fiber
cable), twist-on mechanism. Available in
single mode and multimode.
 It is the most popular connector for
multimode fiber optic LAN applications.
 It has a long 2.5mm diameter ferrule
made of ceramic, stainless alloy or
plastic.
 It mates with a interconnection adapter
and is latched into place by twisting.
ST (Straight Tip
Connector)
 SC (Subscriber Connector)
 SC connector – simplex and duplex, snap-in
mechanism. Available in single mode and
multimode.

 It is widely used in single mode applications.

 Two simplex SC connectors can be clipped

together by a reusable duplex holding clip to
create a duplex SC connector.
SC (Subscriber Connector)

Simplex SC connector Duplex SC

Connector

Simplex SC Adapter Duplex SC

 FC (Ferrule Connector)
 FC connector – simplex only, screw-on
mechanism. Available in single mode and
multimode.
 FC connector also has a 2.5mm ferrule (made
of ceramic (zirconia) or stainless alloy) .
 It is specifically designed for telecommunication
applications.
 It has been the most popular single mode
connectors for many years. However it is now
gradually being replaced by SC.
FC (Ferrule Connector)
 LC (Lucent connector)
 LC connector – simplex and duplex –
push and latch – 1.25mm ferrule.
Available in single mode and multimode.
 Externally LC connectors resemble a
standard RJ45 telephone jack.
 Internally they resemble a miniature
version of the SC connector. LC
connectors use a 1.25mm ceramic ferrule
instead of the 2.5mm ferrule. LC
connectors are licensed by Lucent
 LC (Lucent connector)
 Highly favored for single mode applications.

LC Connector – Simplex and Duplex

LC Simplex Adapter LC Duplex Adapter

 E2000 connector
 E2000 connector. 1.25mm ferrule,
snap-in mechanism. Also called LX.5
connector. Available in single mode
and multimode.
 Externally a E2000 connector looks like
a miniature SC connector.
 The connector is easy to install, with a
push-pull mechanism which clicks when
fully inserted.
 E2000 connector contd..,
 It features a spring-loaded shutter which fully
protects the ferrule from dust and scratches.
 The shutter closes automatically when the
connector is disengaged, locking out
impurities which could later lead to network
failure.
 When it is plugged into the adapter the
shutter opens automatically.
E2000 connector

E2000 Connector E2000 Adapter

SMA (Sub Miniature A
Connector)
 Simplex only. Multimode only
 SMA 905 and 906 connectors make use of
threaded connections and are ideal for
military applications because of their low
cost multimode coupling.
 SMA 905 and SMA 906 multimode
connectors are available with stainless
alloy or stainless steel ferrules.
 SMA Connector

SMA 905 Adapter

SMA 905 and 906 Connector

SMA
 D4 connector
 D4 connector. 2.5mm ferrule. Screw-on.
Simplex only.
 D4 connectors are made from a 2.5mm
diameter ceramic (zirconia) ferrule for
durability.
 They have a high-performance threading
mounting system and a keyed body for
repeatability.
D4 connector
 Biconic Connector
 Biconic Connector. Simplex only.
Available in single mode and multimode.
 Biconic connectors exhibit a cone-shaped
ferrule that helps to align the optical fibers
at the connection interface.
 Their robust design makes biconic
connectors well-suited for military fiber
optic applications.
 Biconic Connector
 The ferrule can be made with either polymer
or metal.
 Biconic connector’s applications include LAN
and premises networks, data processing
systems, medical instrumentation, remote
sensing, telemetry, and cable television.

Biconic Connector
 Requirements of good
connector
1. Low Coupling losses:
 The connector assembly must maintain stringent
alignment tolerances to assure low mating losses
and also the reflection level should be low.
2. Interchangeability:
 Connectors of same type must be compatible from
one manufacturer to another.
3. Low cost
 It should be available at low cost.
4. Ease of connection:
 One should be able to mate and demate the
connector simply by hand.
 Connector Types
APC (angled physical contact):
 A style of fiber optic connector with a 5°-

15° angle on the connector tip for the

minimum possible back reflection.
 Connector Types
 Connector ferrules with flat
ends are sufficient for
multimode fibers which are
using LED sources.
 However flat surfaces produce
reflections when used with
laser source.
 By slightly rounding the fiber
end faces intermediate contact
between fibers is ensured.
 Connector Types
PC
 Abbreviation for physical contact. Refers to

an optical connector that allows the fiber

ends to physically touch. Used to minimize
back reflection and insertion loss.
 Connector Types
 ST: Abbreviation for straight tip connector.
Popular fiber optic connector originally
developed by AT&T.
 SC: Abbreviation for subscription channel
connector. A push-pull type of optical
connector that features high packing
density, low loss, low back reflection, and
low cost.
Connector Types
Pigtail:
 A short optical fiber
permanently attached to a
source, detector, or other
fiber optic device at one end
and an optical connector at
the other.

Jumper:
 A short fiber optic cable with
connectors on both ends.
Steps to attach fiber
 The fiber's plastic coating is stripped
first before the fiber is inserted in the
ferrule.
 The center hole through the ferrule is
large enough to fit the fiber cladding
(which is usually 125um after fiber
coating stripped off) but tight enough to
hold the fiber in a fixed position without
any further moving.
 Because of fiber cladding diameter's
variation from manufacturing, some fiber
connector manufacturers also supply a
range of ferrule bore sizes such as 124um,
125um, 126um and 127um.
 Per connector manufacturer’s instruction,
use jacket stripper (2.0mm hole) to remove
fiber jacket to specified length and expose
the aramid yarn. (the Kevlar)
 Trim the aramid yarn to specified length
with scissors according to the spec

 Fiber jacket and aramid yarn stripped to

specified length per connector
manufacturer’s spec
 Stripper

Aramid Yarn
cutter
 Some connectors uses
epoxy resins to connect
the fibers.
 Some may connect
without any resins.
 Fiber optic epoxy or
adhesive is injected into
the ferrule hole before
the fiber is pushed in to
hold the fiber in place if
it requires.
 The epoxy or adhesive is then cured
with high temperature oven according
to adhesive manufacturers' instruction.
 Finally the fiber end is polished to a
smooth face on polishing films.
 The ferrule is then slipped inside
another hollow cylinder before it is
mounted in the connector body.
 At this point the end of the bare fiber is
protruding from the front of the connector
pin. 
 The pin is placed in a special tool that is
then used to cleave or cut the tiny glass
fiber flush with the end of the pin.
 The purpose of cleaving the fiber is to
ensure that it breaks cleanly at 90 degrees,
 
 Next the connector is placed into a small jig
and run over two or three grades of fine
lapping film,
 This completes the polishing of the fiber
and the optical connector is ready for
use.
 A stain-relief rubber boot is finally
slipped over the cable end of the
connector to protect the cable-
connector junction point.
 Insert the connector into the end of your
fiber optic inspection microscope.
 If the connector passes visual inspection
then you can put on the dust cap over
the connector ferrule.

good quality fiber optic

connector termination
Steps to attach fiber

1 2

3.1 3.2
Steps to attach fiber
contd..,

4 5

6 7
Cross Connect Panels
 An optical cross-connect (OXC) is
device used in communication systems
to switch high-speed optical signals in a
fiber optic network.
 Cross connect panels are used to
interconnect different optical systems.
 It is the role of cross connect panels to
provide reliable interconnection,
mechanical protection and stable
alignment of optical systems.
 Cross connect panels come in different types
as LAN panels, patch panel, distribution
panels, splice panels, storage panels etc.,
 A panel is nothing but which houses many
fiber optic connections. 
 Technicians use the panel to switch signals
from one fiber to another to make and break
signal connections. 
 LAN panels act as horizontal cross
connects between backbone fiber
cables and individual users.
 LAN panels can be used for
maximum of 24 fibers.
 They are wall mountable there by
saving some floor space.
LAN Panels
Fiber Optic Patch Panel
 Patch panel accepts vertical cabling
from each horizontal cross connects and
provide patching functions to the cables
connecting with building entrance
facility.
 Generally patch panel acts as
intermediate cross connects (ex: to
connect all LAN panels in a building)
Distribution Panels
 Distribution panels are designed for higher fiber
density than other panel types and used at
entrance point or at major hub site.
 Because of their higher density they are widely
used by many telecos and operators.
 Distribution panels combine splice trays and
patching functions in one panel.
 Distribution panels also allow compliance with
buildings providing transition from outdoor to
indoor style cables.
Distribution Panels contd..,
 When choosing distribution panel it
always better to order them with double
the fiber capacity that is needed.
 Also it is important to check whether
the panel is properly designed for cable
grounding, strain relief and fiber
routing.
 Also panels must have storage for extra
fiber at specified bend radius.