How To Care for an Optical Fiber Connector

If you own, work with, or use optical fiber, there’s a good chance you need to stay connected. That means you need to know how to care for an optical fiber connector. It’s a delicate piece of equipment, and doing it right will keep you connected, while doing it wrong could ruin your connection in a hurry.

Preventative Measures

You must keep any speck of dirt or dust from getting on the connector. But if you don’t clean it correctly, you could scratch the glass surface, cause instability in the laser system, or even cause a misalignment between the fiber cores.

So, how does the process work? To start, disconnect the cable and make sure you deactivate the laser. Put on your safety glasses and then check the connectors before you start to clean them.

Effective Cleaning Methods

The next step is to examine the entire connector with a video inspection fiberscope. The first cleaning technique is called dry cleaning, and it involves applying medium pressure with a cassette cleaner. After this, wipe down the connector against a dry cloth, and do this in both directions on the entire fiber optic. You should do this at least twice.

If this doesn’t take care of the dirt, the other technique you can use is “wet cleaning.” It involves using an alcohol solution, then wiping the end against the cleaning cloth or tissue. Be aware that wet cleaning is a more aggressive tactic, and it will remove a variety of potentially harmful contaminants. Do this twice, as whatever cleaning tactics you use must be thorough and comprehensive.

Finishing Up

Make sure to handle the connector carefully during cleaning, as you may contaminate it again by handling it carelessly. Use high magnification when you’re inspecting it with a fiberscope, and make sure the scope is clean, too. The normal level of magnification is usually 200x.

Finally, wear your safety glasses while you’re in the cleaning area. Make sure they’re designed to comply with all necessary regulations that pertain to the cleaning area, and they should be appropriate for whatever lasers are involved in the application.

Performing these steps diligently will ensure that your connection stays stable, and it’ll help increase the life span of the connector, too. Review these steps on how to care for an optical fiber connector as often as necessary, and make sure you perform them multiple times.