Connector Inspection and Maintenance

One of the first tasks to perform when designing fiber-optic networks is to evaluate the acceptable budget loss in order to create a product that will meet application requirements. To adequately characterize the budget loss, the following key parameters are generally considered: transmitter (launch power, temperature and aging); fiber connections (connectors and splices); cable (fiber loss and temperature effects); receiver (detector sensitivity); and safety margin and repairs.

When one of the above-listed variables fails to meet specifications, the performance of the network can be greatly affected or worse, the degradation can lead to network failure. Unfortunately, not all the variables can be controlled with ease during the deployment of the network or the maintenance stage. This paper discusses one component—the connector—that can be controlled using the proper procedure.