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Safety Precautions • When installed on a live system, invisible laser radiation may be present. Do not stare into connector end face or view directly with optical instruments. • Wear safety glasses when working with optical fiber. • Dispose of all scrap fibers to avoid getting fiber slivers. 1 Scope The following guidelines are intended as a general overview of important issues related to the installation of fiber optic cable. 2 Installation Specifications For a proper cable installation, it is important to understand the cable specifications. The two most important specifications are tensile loading and bend radius. It is very

Fiber lasers have found a processing and research niche where Nd:YAG lasers are too expensive or have beam properties which are undesirable (e.g. large M2 values). Users of fiber lasers may be concerned with the interchangeability of their existing supply of optical components or how to specify new optics. This article addresses such areas of concern and highlights which characteristics should be specified particularly carefully. Fiber lasers are gaining ground in a variety of applications such as drilling, welding, foil cutting, laser marking, and precise micro-machining. Research scientists are also finding them very useful as sources because of their small

Much has been made in the past five years of the potential for CMOS imagers and of the impending demise of the incumbent image-sensing technology,CCDs. Strong claims by the proponents of a resurgent CMOS technology have been countered by equally forceful claims by CCD defenders. In a pattern typical of battling technologies (both with significant merits but also lacking maturity in some regards), users have become leery of performance representations made by both camps. Overly aggressive promotion of both technologies has led to considerable fear, uncertainty and doubt. Imager basics For the foreseeable future, there will be a significant role

POLISHING TECHNIQUES Critical to proper polishing is the applied process–the technique–that results in meeting the various specifications. Early connectors were all produced with flat end-faces, which were specified to be close (the linear tolerance on the SMA, for example, being 8 microns), but too specifically avoid actual contact. As Polishing evolved the PC (Physical Contact) concept was developed–spherical end-faces, with the fibers making actual physical contact–The PC finish resulted in much improved performance because air-gap was eliminated which allowed increased light wave transmission. The early PC connectors, preceding development of the now common pre-radiused ferrules, required spherical forming of their

Connectors play a key role in fiber optic communications. The finish of a polished connector’s end face determines the quality of its light wave transmission. Consequently, all polished connectors used for communications are required to comply with a strict set of standards and specifications. Some people in the field think the highest levels of performance have been reached, while others believe there is room for improvement. The labor force developed for this field is made up of technicians whose tools have evolved from manual devices into precision machinery. These machines, combined with an experienced work force, are creating the path