Ferrule Mate is a type of dry cloth cleaning tool from Seikoh Giken. It can be used in the field or in the factory. It is a complete solution to effectively clean both ferrules within adapters (female connectors) and cable assemblies (male connectors).

:: Ferrule Mate Cleaner Description

:: Step by Step Instruction for Cleaning Ferrule Inside Adapter (Female Connector)

1) Remove dust cap from adapter

2) Remove protective cap from Ferrule Mate cleaner. Align Ferrule Mate cleaning guide with respective adapter.

3) Insert cleaning tip straight into adapter. Do not insert cleaning tip into adapter at an angle.

4) Push Ferrule Mate cleaning forward until spring-loaded cleaning guide stopper is at rear position. Maintain pressure and press and release the click button one time. For extremely dirty connectors, two button pushes may be necessary.

:: Step by Step Instruction for Cleaning Connector Ferrules (Male Connector)

1) Flip open tip cover on Ferrule Mate Cleaner to expose cloth and cleaning tip

2) Insert connector ferrule into ferrule guide until connector ferrule housing contacts cloth and cleaning tip. Press and release click button one time. For extremely dirty connectors, two button clicks may be necessary.

Here are the detailed epoxy LC connector assembly and termination instructions for both single mode and multimode LC connectors.

The steps are pretty generic and are applicable to most major brands’ LC connectors on the market, such as those from 3M, Seiko, Corning, Molex, AMP, etc.

Here are the LC connector components before assembly.

Here is the LC connector after assembly.

Step 1: Set Up the Heat Curing Oven

a) Place oven on a level surface and away from combustibles.

b) Connect the oven’s power cord to a power source, and turn the oven on.

c) Warning: After the oven reaches its operating temperature, the oven ports will be
extremely HOT [266°F (130°C)].

Step 2: Prepare the Fiber

a) Remove cable sheath and outer jacket. Be careful not to cut into fibers while removing cable sheath and outer jacket.

b) Be certain to expose enough buffered fiber to allow access to the curing oven and other connector preparation functions. Typical working length for buffered fibers is 24 to 36 inches (0.6 to 0.9 meters).

c) Install buffer support boot by slipping the small end of boot onto the buffered fiber.

d) Measure and mark the buffered fiber 7/16 to 1/2 inch (11 to 13 mm) from the end by using the scale or template provided in the tool kit.

e) Locate 1026A Heat-Strip Tool (105 514 764) provided in the Tool Kit.

f) Strip 7/16 to 1/2 inch (11 to 13 mm) of the buffered fiber.

g) Clean stripped fiber by saturating a wipe with isopropyl alcohol (>91% 2-propanol + water) and wiping the fiber from the edge of the buffer toward the end of the fiber.

h) Place prepared buffer into the grooves of the 971A-2 holder block to avoid breaking or contamination of the fiber (holder blocks are provided in the D-182959 Upgrade Kit).

Step 3: Prepare the Epoxy

The supplied epoxy comes in a two-part package. A divider separates the resin from the hardener. The divider must be removed to allow the epoxy to be mixed. The epoxy is then loaded into a syringe.

a) Remove the divider between the resin and the hardener.

b) Mix the epoxy using the divider. The epoxy must be thoroughly mixed until both parts are blended into a smooth uniform color.

c) Place the syringe tip on the syringe and twist to lock in place. Remove the plunger from the syringe.

d) Fold the epoxy package in half and cut off one of the package corners. Squeeze the mixed epoxy into the syringe. A ¾-inch (19 mm) length of epoxy will be enough for about 50 connectors.

e) Replace the plunger into the syringe.

Remove air pockets from the syringe by holding the syringe tip upward and ejecting epoxy until the air pockets are removed.

Step 4: Install LC Connector

a) Prepare the connector.

Hold the connector towards the light and check to make sure the hole and the tip are clear. If necessary, clear the hole using the music wire (furnished).

Locate a connector holder with extension (107 852 493) from the upgrade kit. Snap connector into the holder.

b) Apply the epoxy

Epoxy is injected into two areas of the connector: (1) inside of the ferrule and (2) at the back of the ferrule.

The syringe is first used to inject epoxy into the ferrule. This epoxy bonds the stripped fiber to the ferrule.

Before removing the syringe from the connector, epoxy must next be deposited at the back of the ferrule. This epoxy bonds the buffer at the back of the ferrule.

DO NOT apply an excessive amount of epoxy to either the ferrule or at the back of the ferrule.

1. Locate the small tube inside the back of the connector.

2. Carefully insert the tip of the syringe into the small tube until it bottoms. Caution: In the following step, do not apply excess epoxy to the tip of the ferrule.

3. Inject epoxy into the ferrule by slowly pressing the syringe plunger until the epoxy just appears at the connector tip (face of the ferrule).

4. Deposit epoxy at the back of the ferrule by pulling the tip of the syringe back slightly and momentarily injecting a small amount of epoxy at the back of the ferrule.

5. Release pressure on plunger, wait a moment, and then remove the syringe from the connector.

c) Insert Fiber

1. Remove prepared fiber from holder block.

2. Insert the exposed fiber into the small tube inside the connector and carefully feel for the
opening in the ferrule.

3. When the fiber is seated, pull it back slightly and watch for fiber movement at the tip of
the connector to make sure the fiber is not broken.

4. Reposition the fiber back into the connector and lock buffer in the slot at the end of the
holder extension.

5. Ensure that the buffer support boot is pushed back on cable.

6. Place buffer in slot on holder extension.

7. Store up to 12 BTW connectors in the 971A-2 holder blocks.

d) Cure Connector Assemblies

1. When the desired number of connectors has been prepared, place the holder block next to the preheated oven.

2. Place prepared connector assemblies into the oven ports.

3. Ensure that the connector assemblies are sitting at the bottom of the oven ports.

4. Remove the assemblies from the oven after they have cured for 10 minutes.

e) Cool Connector Assemblies and Attach Buffer Support Boot

1. Place cured assemblies back into the holder block to cool.

2. Select a connector assembly and remove the fiber buffer from the holder slot.

3. Push the cable support boot onto the connector.

4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 for each connector assembly.

f) Score the Fiber

1. Remove the connector from the connector holder.

2. Obtain the 975A cleaving tool from the 1032B5 Tool Kit or from the 1032B6 Tool Kit.In the following step, score the fiber as close to the ferrule as possible while at the same time being careful not to break the fiber.

3. Place the cleaving tool against the ferrule and exposed fiber.

4. Using one stroke of the cleaving tool, gently score the exposed fiber.

5. Remove the exposed fiber by gently pulling straight away from the cable.If fiber did not readily pull off, score fiber again on opposite side and gently pull fiber.

6. Dispose of the fiber scraps in a safe manner.

g) Polish Fiber End for both Multimode and Single Mode LC Connectors

1. Remove the fiber stub

In one hand, hold one of the cut pieces of type J polishing paper (dull side down)

In the other hand, hold the connector with the tip pointing upward. Note: When performing the following step, be careful not to break the fiber stub.

Air polish using light circular motions about 1 inch in diameter; carefully polish off fiber stub.

2. Remove excess epoxy

Use canned air to clean the back and front of a full piece of type J polishing paper (purple).

Saturate a wipe with isopropyl alcohol (>91% 2-propanol + water).

Obtain a glass plate and a polishing tool (T2000A or T2001A) from D-182959 Upgrade Kit.

Clean the glass plate and polishing tool with the saturated wipe.

Use canned air to blow dry the glass plate and the polishing tool.

Insert the LC connector into the T2000A or T2001A polishing tool.

Place one clear spacer sheet on the glass plate, then place a sheet of type J polishing paper (purple) on the glass plate with the dull side up.

Gently place the polishing tool and connector onto the polishing paper.Note: In the following step, you should not feel any drag between the fiber and the paper.

Start with light pressure and use figure-8 strokes that are approximately 2 inches high and 1 inch wide. The figure-8 strokes must be well rounded to ensure complete removal of the epoxy from the end of the ferrule.

Using light pressure, polish the connector for 20 figure-8 strokes. Danger: Optical fibers may emit radiation if the far end is connected with a working laser or light-emitting diode (LED). Never view the fiber end of a cable or plug with the naked eye or any optical instrument until absolute verification is established that the fiber is disconnected from any laser or LED source.

Using a 7X eye loupe or LC microscope supplied in the D-182905 or D-182959 Upgrade Kit, check the tip of the ferrule. No excess epoxy should surround the fiber. Note: If excess epoxy is found, continue to use type J polishing paper (purple) to remove the excess epoxy.

3. Dome ferrule end

Place the following consumables on the glass plate: one white foam pad, five clear spacers, and on top place a sheet of type F polishing paper (yellow). Note: Type F polishing paper can be reused by cleaning with alcohol and wipes.

Using light pressure, polish the connector for 20 figure-8 strokes. Note: Step 3 concludes the polishing procedure for multimode fibers. Steps 4 and 5 are to be performed for singlemode fibers only.

4. Single mode LC connector only – improve dome surface finish

Replace the sheet of type F (yellow) polishing paper with a sheet of type K (gray) dull side up. Leave the five clear spacers and foam pad on glass plate.

Polish the connector for 20 additional figure-8 strokes.

5. Single mode LC connector only – Final Polish

Remove all polishing material from glass plate and replace with type L felt polishing pad (purple). Note: Step 5b is critical for excellent return loss. Perform carefully by guiding the polishing tool and plug slowly and gently, never increasing pressure.

Dampen one-fourth of sheet with distilled water (do not flood). Buff polish 20 light figure-8 strokes, approximately 3 inches high and 1 ½ inches wide.

Clean fiber end with wipe dampened with water, then with a second wipe dampened with alcohol.

The felt can be stored damp in a clean plastic bag and reused. The glass plate should be immediately cleaned with water and dried completely before storage to prevent polishing residue from permanently drying on glass plate.

Note: Step 5 provides the necessary steps for high performance return loss. Type L felt polishing pad (purple) is imbedded with ultrafine polishing material.

h) Repair Polishing Only

1. Place a sheet of type F paper and one clear spacer over the glass plate.

2. Using little or no pressure, polish the connector until the flaw has been removed.

3. Repeat Step 3 in Section 3.4.7. Polishing Note: Do not over polish. Approximately one-third of the chamfer length can be polished away. This concludes the repair procedure for multimode fibers.

4. For singlemode fibers only, repeat Steps 4 and 5 in Section 3.4.7.

i) Final Assembly

Once the polishing is finished and the end finish is acceptable, cover the end of the connector with a white dust cap.

Step 5: Inspect Fiber and Ferrule Endface Geometry

a) Fiber Inspection

1. Dampen a wipe with isopropyl alcohol (>91% 2-propanol + water).

2. Clean the end of the ferrule with the dampened wipe, followed by a dry wipe.

3. Blow the ferrule dry with canned air.

4. Locate the LC microscope supplied in the D-182905 or D-182959 Upgrade Kit.

5. Insert the ferrule end of the connector into the microscope adapter (center hole). Danger: A high-intensity light may be used at the other end of the fiber to illuminate fiber core.

6. Open the microscope barrels to illuminate the connector tip and use the side wheel to focus.

b) Ferrule Endface Geometry

The dimensions in the following table are for reference only and apply after all polishing procedures have been completed.

Step 6: LC Connector and Adapter Cleaning Instructions

a) LC Connector Cleaning

1. Dampen a wipe with isopropyl alcohol (>91% 2-propanol + water).

2. Clean the end of the ferrule with the dampened wipe.

3. Blow the ferrule dry with canned air. Caution: Signal performance will be affected if the connector tip is not thoroughly cleaned.

b) LC Adapter Cleaning

1. If access to the adapter is only available from one side, use canned air to blow inside of adapter.

2. If access is available from both sides of the adapter, clean the adapter with an LC adapter brush moistened with alcohol followed by canned air. The brush can be cleaned with alcohol and canned air.

Caution 1: Do not try to clean the inner adapter sleeve with a standard pipe cleaner. The inner diameter of the sleeve is too small.

Caution 2: Do not try to clean the adapter with an LC adapter brush if a connector is mounted in the adapter.

The grounding rules are defined for outside or inside of a building. The main rule is defined in NEC section 770.100 – Entrance Cable Grounding.

Entrance Cable Grounding

Grounding conductor needs to be insulated, made of copper (or other corrosion resistant material), and stranded or solid.

The size must be no smaller than 14 AWG and having an ampacity equal or larger than the conductive elements of the cable assembly, but it doesn’t need to be larger than 6 AWG.

It must be run in as straight a line as possible, and be guarded from physical damage. If run in a metal raceway, both ends must be bonded.

Electrode terminations are also covered. If an intersystem bonding terminations exist, then the termination should be to that point. If there is no intersystem bonding point, but there are grounding electrodes, then the connection must be made to that grounding system.

If the building has no intersystem bonding termination and no grounding electrode system, then you can ground to the nearest building electrodes such as water pipe, building steel, ground ring, etc.

If you cannot find all the above, then the grounding should be done to a 5 feet ground rod which is driven into permanently damp soil.

The electrode, although required to be at least 6 feet from other electrodes, must be bonded to the power system grounding with no smaller than 6 AWG copper conductor.

The loss in decibels at a connector is about 7% greater at 1310nm than at 1550nm, based on measured data. And some equations were developed which is pretty consistent with actual measurement result.

The conclusion is simple: the loss in a connector is slightly larger at shorter wavelengths.

The coupling loss calculation equations involve more than wavelength, mode field diameter and refractive index also plays important role which makes the loss calculation a much more complex function of wavelength.

Here are some actual measurement result just to show the fact.

Heat-cured epoxies are relative inert, and can be used with plastic, metal and ceramic fiber connectors.

But anaerobic adhesives as a curing agent in fiber connector termination have become pretty popular today, especially in field installation and terminations, because of the rapid curing time.

Anaerobic adhesives are made of two parts, an adhesive and a primer. When mixed together, the adhesive hardens within a minute.

Here comes the warning: Anaerobic agents are relatively aggressive and cause certain materials to degrade, especially plastic material.

So anaerobic adhesives should not be used in fiber optic connectors, where the adhesive will come into contact with the plastic components of the connectors, such as ferrules or ferrule holders.

Anaerobic adhesives should only be used with optic connectors that have a ceramic (zirconia) ferrule and a metal ferrule holder.

Other parts of the connector body that do not contact with the anaerobic adhesive can be plastic, such as the shroud on SC connectors.

So we recommend you to review the fiber optic connector manufacturer’s procedures for specific termination instructions, to determine the correct adhesive and epoxy to use with a particular connector type.

We offer anaerobic adhesives and anaerobic optical connectors. Please check them out.

Anaerobic Adhesive

Corning Anaerobic Connectors

The amount of light that is reflected back can cause undesirable system and network effects, thus it must be minimized. With today’s 10Gbit/s, 40Gbit/s and even 100Gbit/s high date rates, video over fiber links with lots of connections, connection back-reflection has become very critical.

In those undesirable effects, increased noise if one of them. This noise is analogous to multipath interference noise of radio waves in the atmosphere. Both noise sources are generated by reflection propagating back and interfering.

There is also a secondary effect of increased noise caused by the back-reflection also being reflected and then traveling down the fiber in the original direction but with a time delay as compared with the original signal.

The time-proven method to reduce back-reflection on fiber optic connectors is to ensure that the fibers are in physical contact (PC) (touching). One way is to grind a radius on the ferrule, and another is to make a angle on the ferrule.

So four types of fiber connector physical contact shape are introduced in the industry. They are called PC (physical contact, <-30dB back reflection), SPC (super physical contact, <-40dB back reflection), UPC (ultra physical contact, <-50dB back reflection) and APC (angled physical contact, <-60dB back reflection).

You can find SC/PC, SC/SPC, SC/UPC and SC/APC connectors. But not all four types are available on all fiber connectors.

Fiber optic cable installers have always been trying to get the maximum number of fibers into a duct. For example, a fiber cable with diameter of 1 inch fills 64 percent of a 1.25 inch duct. The rule of thumb is that you can add a fiber cable to a duct if the cable does not exceed 70% of the area of the duct.

Let’s still take 1.25 inch duct as a example, the requirement of the cable diameter not only has to be smaller than 1.25 inch, but it also has to be small enough so it can accommodate the bends and length of the conduit route.

Most fiber cable manufacturers produce fiber cables containing less than 432 fibers in order to meet the 1 inch diameter size requirement for 1.25 inch innerduct. So for a 4 inch conduit, the maximum fiber counts is 1296 fibers.

But compared to copper cables, fiber cables still have the advantage of higher fiber counts with smaller diameters. The common practice in fiber optic cable installation then, is to place multiple 1.25 inch innerducts in the common 3.5 inch or 4 inch conduit structures, this practice basically doubles or triples the duct capacity.

For OSP (outside plant) fiber cable installations, the challenge is different than indoor applications. In this case, you have to choose the correct inside diameter of the innerduct.

The most common conduit is 100mm in diameter and 150mm diameter is becoming more popular. Conduit is laid in the ground, and innerducts are drawn through the conduit. Fiber optic cables are then deployed and pulled through the innerducts.

The most critical failure factor is the massive tension applied to these innerducts. The eventual performance of the installed system is very critical since a failed innerduct or fiber inside can be very expensive to repair.

The materials of fiber innerduct is commonly HDPE. It must have excellent mechanical properties and also must have good resistance to other environmental factors such as temperature, humidity and moisture, UR radiation, or even ozone.

OK. Here is the point: fiber optic cables should be tested after shipping and handling. This is one of the most common mistakes made by fiber optic cable installers and contractors.

Damage to cabling can occur during shipping or installation. Failing to test fiber cables after it is delivered is a common mistake made by installers. This failure makes damaged cable detection difficult and returns awkward.

An OTDR could be used in this case to shoot an optical profile on each fiber after the cable is received and still on the shipping reel. A permanent record will then be available for future use.

Failing to perform testing, verification, and documentation prior to the installation of the fiber end-termination equipment is a problem. If the fiber is not tested after installation, it cannot be determined whether it was installed correctly; serious equipment performance problems can occur.

Furthermore, failing to document in the cable plant could make trouble-shooting difficult later; as well as voiding warranty conditions of the installed network.

When testing short runs of fiber, there is typically not much information about the fiber available except for length and attenuation. Connectors and splices are generally not present, needed, or used for short lengths; new short runs would be reinstalled.

The sampling rate of an OTDR will determine how much resolution the instrument has when capturing trace information. While it is important to maximize resolution for short distances, it is not mandatory for longer distances.

Since it takes more time to take more sampling or data points, longer stretches of fiber can use a lower sampling rate, whereas medium lengths can use a medium sampling rate. This kind of incremental improvement in time helps when testing hundreds of fibers.

Buy Fiber Optic Cleaving Tool (Fiber Cleaver) Here

A fiber cleave is initiated by lightly scratching the surface of the fiber. When the fiber is thereafter pulled or bent, a crack will originate at the scratch and propagate radially across teh width of the fiber. This produces a nearly flat cleave of an optical fiber.

Fiber Cleaving Tool

The stress field within the fiber created by tension or bending determines the speed at which sound will propagate. If the crack exceeds this speed, the crack will suddenly change direction by almost 90°. This results in an excess of glass on one fiber and a shortage on the other fiber (called a hackle).

Fiber Cleave Hackle

So in order to produce a nearly flat cleave of an optical fiber, the crack speed must propagate slower than the speed of sound in the fiber.

This rule should hold regardless of fiber material. Just be certain that you know the speed of sound in the fiber. Keep in mind that most bad cleaves are due to the initial scratch being too deep. Torsion will not change the speed of sound within the fiber, but it will produce non-perpendicular endfaces.

It is easy to cleave an 80um and 125um dia. fibers, but usually difficult to cleave >200um fibers. To some extent, the difficulty in cleaving these fibers results from the fact that the material of the fiber is not crystalline. Again, torsion will produce a non-perpendicular endface. In fact, most commercially available angle cleavers rely on torsion. The endface angle is proportional to the amount of torsion.

In BPON, an upstream frame consists of 53 timeslots, where each timeslot is comprised of one ATM cell and 3 bytes of overhead. When two consecutive timeslots are given to different ONUs, these 3 bytes or approximately 154 ns of the overhead should be sufficient to shut down the laser in the first ONU, turn it on in the second ONU, and perform gain adjustment and clock synchronization at the OLT.

Similarly, very tight timing is specified for GPON. For example, in GPON with a 1.244 Gbps line rate, only 16-bit times (less than 13 ns) are allocated for the laser-on and laser-off times. Such short intervals require more expensive, higher-speed laser drivers at the ONU.

A very tight bound of 44-bit times (less than 36 ns) is allotted for the gain control and clock recovery. In many cases, the dynamic range of the signal arrived from different ONUs will require a longer AGC time than the allotted overhead (guard interval). To reduce the range of necessary gain adjustment, BPON and GPON perform a power-leveling operation, in which the OLT instructs individual ONUs to adjust their transmitting power, so that the levels of signals received at the OLT from different ONUs are approximately equal.

The IEEE 802 work group has traditionally focused on enterprise data communication technologies. In EPON, the main emphasis was placed on preserving the architectural model of Ethernet. No explicit framing structure exists in EPON; the Ethernet frames are transmitted in bursts with a standard interframe spacing. The burst sizes and physical layer overhead are large in EPON. For example, the maximum AGC interval is set to 400 ns, which provides enough time to the OLT to adjust gain without ONUs performing the power-leveling operation. As a result, ONUs do not need any protocol and circuitry to adjust the
laser power. Also, the laser-on and laser-off times are capped at 512 ns, a significantly higher bound than that of GPON. The relaxed physical overhead values are just a few of many cost-cutting steps taken by EPON.

Another cost-cutting step of EPON is the preservation of the Ethernet framing format, which carries variable-length packets without fragmentation. In contrast, both BPON and GPON break the packets into multiple fragments. BPON uses AAL5, discussed above, to break a packet into cells at the transmitting end and to reassemble multiplecell payloads into a complete packet at the receiving end. GPON employs the GPON encapsulation method (GEM) to enable packet
fragmentation. This method uses a complicated algorithm to delineate variable-size GEM segments and reconstruct the packets at the receiving device.

Several operators have deployed BPON systems; however, the foretold mass deployment and corresponding equipment cost reduction have never materialized. At the time of this writing, there are no announced GPON field trials, let alone commercially deployed systems. Given the level of complexity of the GPON or tight specification for various physical-layer parameters, it is very doubtful that the cost of GPON equipment can match that of an EPON.