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Cleaning. Not exactly a hot, cutting edge topic – right? But, dirty connector end faces may very well be the biggest cause of failures in the field for fiber optic links today. This is a topic that many people in the industry spend a lot of time on – much of it behind the scenes. Companies continue to produce new cleaning products, update their cleaning procedures and invest in equipment to inspect connectors before installation.

Face it, in the case of a fiber optic link, cleanliness may indeed be next to Godliness! There was a webinar last month where US Conec presented some interesting information about end face dirt and cleaning tools for connectors. We have heard of users rejecting product before doing loss testing because their initial test is a pass/fail visual inspection – probably more often failing from dirt than real scratches and marks. The FOA has a “Tech Topic” page devoted to this, along with links to more information. Corning posted a youtube video all about cleaning the end of a ferrule – and it is over 5 minutes long. Cisco has a document on their website entitled “Inspection and Cleaning Procedures for Fiber-Optic Connections” and it takes hitting my ‘page down’ button 33 times to get to the end. Now that is a lot of cleaning information!

US Conec has recently introduced new connector cleaners – adding to their popular IBC Cleaners line. New units for cleaning duplex LCs, MTRJ, all single fiber connectors as well as TFOCA connectors. These can be used to clean connectors before mating and when already loaded into adapters.

In the end, this is an important topic and not something that should be an after-thought for anyone dealing with fiber connectors. Whether you terminate connectors, write specs for them, install them or use them in any way – make sure you have planned a way to clean them and everyone who handles them understands the importance of doing so. This means doing something every time you have to mate a connector pair. It’s important.

Fiberopticcleanings.com stocks a variety of fiber optic cleaning supplies, from one click cleaner to fiber optic cleaner, from fiber optic cleaning wipes to fiber optic cleaning kit – everything you need for fiber optic cleaning jobs, BUY NOW and get FREE SHIPPING on most items!

What is a fiber splicer?

A fiber splicer is a device that uses an electric arc to melt two optical fibers together at their end faces, to form a single long fiber. The resulting joint, or fusion splice, permanently joins the two glass fibers end to end, so that optical light signals can pass from one fiber into the other with very little loss.

How does a fiber splicer work?

Before optical fibers can be successfully fusion-spliced, they need to be carefully stripped of their outer jackets and polymer coating, thoroughly cleaned, and then precisely cleaved to form smooth, perpendicular end faces. Once all of this has been completed, each fiber is placed into a holder in the splicer’s enclosure. From this point on, the fiber splicer takes over the rest of the process, which involves 3 steps:

•Alignment: Using small, precise motors, the fiber splicer makes minute adjustments to the fibers’ positions until they’re properly aligned, so the finished splice will be as seamless and attenuation-free as possible. During the alignment process, the fiber optic technician is able to view the fiber alignment, thanks to magnification by optical power meter, video camera, or viewing scope.
 

•Impurity Burn-Off: Since the slightest trace of dust or other impurities can wreak havoc on a splice’s ability to transmit optical signals, you can never be too clean when it comes to fusion splicing. Even though fibers are hand-cleaned before being inserted into the splicing device, many fiber splicer incorporate an extra precautionary cleaning step into the process: prior to fusing, they generate a small spark between the fiber ends to burn off any remaining dust or moisture.
 

•Fusion: After fibers have been properly positioned and any remaining moisture and dust have been burned off, it’s time to fuse the fibers ends together to form a permanent splice. The splicer emits a second, larger spark that melts the optical fiber end faces without causing the fibers’ cladding and molten glass core to run together (keeping the cladding and core separate is vital for a good splice – it minimizes optical loss). The melted fiber tips are then joined together, forming the final fusion splice. Estimated splice-loss tests are then performed, with most fiber fusion splices showing a typical optical loss of 0.1 dB or less.

Learn even more about fiber splicer and other fiber optic test equipment on http://www.fiberoptictesterdepot.com/

A fiber cleaver is a piece of tool or equipment to make an almost perfect fiber end face cut. Just like using a diamond scribe tool when cutting glass, a cleaver’s cutting wheel (blade) makes a very tiny cut on the fiber first, then the fiber is pressed against the little cut to force it to break at 90° angle and expose a mirror like end face.

– Why do we need to cleave optical fibers?

Optical fiber needs to be cleaved for fusion splicing. Fusion splicing nearly always requires that the fiber tips exhibit a smooth end face that is perpendicular to the fiber axis.

This sufficiently perpendicular and planar end face can be achieved via the fiber cleaving process. In this cleaving process, the brittle glass fiber is fractured in a controlled manner.

Polishing a tip can result in even higher quality fiber end faces, but polishing requires more expensive equipment and more processing time, so it is very rarely employed for fusion splicing.

– Fiber cleaver designs

An optical fiber is cleaved by applying a sufficient high tensile stress in the vicinity of a sufficiently large surface crack, which then rapidly expands across the cross section at the sonic velocity.

This idea has many different practical implementations in a variety of commercial cleaving equipment. Some cleavers apply a tensile stress to the fiber while scratching the its surface with a very hard scribing tool, usually a diamond edge.

Other designs scratch the surface first, and then apply tensile stress. Some cleavers apply a tensile stress that is uniform across the cross section while others bend the fiber through a tight radius, producing high tensile stresses on the outside of the bend.

Commercial instruments for simultaneously cleaving all the fibers in a ribbon are also widely available. These ribbon cleavers operate on the same principles as single fiber cleavers. The average cleave quality of a ribbon cleaver is somewhat interior to that of a single fiber cleaver.

Scribe-and-break cleaving can be done by hand or by tools that range from relatively inexpensive hand tools to elaborate automated bench tools. Any technique or tools is capable of good cleaves; the trick is consistent finishes time and time again.

In general, the less costly approaches require more skill and training for the technicians making the cleave.

– Types of fiber cleaver

Most modern fiber optic cleaver are suitable for precision cleaving of all common single silica glass fibers, even under harsh on-side conditions. Special cleaver designs for applications in research, measurement technology and production of optical components are available.

– The importance of cleave quality

The impact of cleave quality on the quality of the resulting fusion splice should not be underestimated. Deficiencies in a cleave are one of the most common causes for geometric deformation in the resulting splice, which are particularly onerous for single mode fiber.

Much of the variation in splice loss observed between different splices fabricated using the same splice parameters is due to variation in cleave quality.

There are several ways in which a poor cleave can reduce the quality of the resulting splice. It can compromise the performance of image processing routines that perform fiber alignment. Cracks in the its end face can lead to a bubbles at the splice joint, which usually requires the splice to be remade.

– Fiber Optic Cleaver features:

Most high precision cleavers produce a cleave angle deviation typically <0.5° with very high reliability and low scattering under on-side conditions.

One-step cleaving operation are a reality now with cleavers. Fiber clamping, bending, scratching and cleaving with one single action.

Diamond blade presents the highest cleave quality and can last over 10,000 cleaves. They are even adjustable for cleaving fibers with increased tensile strength, e.g. titanium-coated fibers.

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

Learn even more about fiber cleaver and other fiber optic tools on http://www.fiberoptictools.net/

The global optical networking equipment market got off to a slow start in 2014, but growth is expected to pick up again as soon as the next quarter, according to the latest report from market research firm Ovum. Optical networking equipment quarterly revenues of $3.1 billion were down 14% from 4Q13 and 2% from 1Q13. fiber optic cleaning kit Spending increases in North America were not enough to offset double-digit quarterly declines in every other region, the analysts say.

The figures were in line with those Infonetics kimtech wipes released last two weeks ago, as reported by ouir sister site Lightwave.

Application segments will drive an upward trend, Ovum believes. Spending for converged packet optical transport systems (CPO), ROADM, 100G, and Optical Transport Network (OTN) switching increased by double digits again in 1Q14 compared to the year-ago quarter. Annualized CPO sales for 1Q14 were nearly $7.8 billion, more than half of all optical network spending, according to Ovum.
“The growth in network bandwidth is astounding and the transport market is evolving to keep pace,” said Ron Kline, principal analyst, intelligent networks at Ovum. “The CPO segment is growing nearly as fast, and network bandwidth and 100G is quickly becoming the wavelength of choice. While the overall market remains flat, the trend for CPO is anything but. 2014 is shaping up to be a very exciting year as metro-optimized 100G and adaptable-rate flex-spectrum 200G/400G line cards enter the market.”

Data center interconnection and access network deployments are also increasing demand for optical equipment, according to Ovum. “The data center is the new central office, and interconnecting them is a major driver of optical networking gear. Backhaul requirements for growing LTE and GPON deployments in the access network are also increasing demand for optical,” said Kline.

Around the globe there was strong regional variation. 1Q14 spending increases in North America did not offset declines in EMEA, South and Central America (SCA), and Asia-Pacific. fiber splicing Optical networking revenues in North America rebounded off a traditionally weak 4Q13, but sales in EMEA fell to $682 million, their lowest point since 1Q04 (the depth of the post-bubble crash). Sales in Asia-Pacific also declined, to their lowest point since 3Q08. SCA spending declined from 4Q13 but grew on 1Q13.

As a result, vendors with stronger exposure to North America did best in 1Q14. Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Infinera Corp. (NASDAQ: INFN) were the only vendors to report both quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year revenue gains, according to Ovum. Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN), Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU), ZTE Corp. (H: 0763.HK / A: 000063.SZ), fiber optic cleaning and FiberHome Technologies Group were down sequentially but grew revenues versus 1Q13. Coriant GmbH, Ericsson, Fujitsu, and Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. failed to reach their year-ago revenue levels.

Fiber optic tools are instruments used by technicians in the telecommunication industry to work on to fiber-optic cables and equipment. Some of the fiber optic tools are used for installation and others are used for repair projects. These fiber optic tools range from fiber optic test equipment to splicing tools.

There are certain fiber optic tools that are necessary for the installation of fiber-optic cables. When workers are preparing a site to put in fiber-optics, they will need the fiber-optic cable, buffer cables, optical connectors and splicing tools. Other tools used in the installation process consist of a pulling fixture to pull the cable, measuring tape and safety glasses. Technicians also use high-visibility warning signs to alert people not to dig near buried fiber-optic cable.

Technicians are never without fiber optic test equipment, which consists of tools such as a fiber optic identifier and micropulse continuity tester. These tools use lasers and low beeper sounds to find breaks in fiber-optic cables and detect signals. By using non-invasive techniques to inspect fibers, there is little risk of damaging the ultra thin cables.

One crucial type of fiber optic tools used by professionals in this business is a fiber-optic test and restoration kit. Technicians use the components in this kit to quickly diagnose and fix problems that can shut down fiber-optic networks. Most restoration kits include an fiber optic microscope to magnify breaks in fibers, a light source with visual detectors and alcohol coated fiber optic cleaning swabs to wipe down connectors.

Fiber optic cleaning kit on the market can be divided to four types based on the cleaning method.

Dry cleaning:  Fiber optic cleaning without the use of any solvent.
Wet cleaning: Fiber optic cleaning with a solvent. Typically IPA (isopropyl alcohol).
Non-Abrasive cleaning: Cleaning without abrasive material touching the fiber optic connector end face. Examples are air dusters or pressured solvent jet used in automated in-situ connector cleaners.
Abrasive cleaning: The popular lint free wipes, reel based Cletop fiber optic cleaner and fiber optic cleaning swabs such as the Cletop sticks are all abrasive cleaning types.

Dry cleaning products
Air spray (air duster, canned air, compressed air) – Air dusters are used to blow loose particles from optical fiber connector endface, or dry up solvent (isopropyl alcohol) residue after a wet cleaning.
All air dusters are not the same. Optic grade is more expensive. Air spray is a non-abrasive fiber optic cleaning method.

Wet Cleaning Products
Alcohol with lint-free wipes: This is the traditional way of fiber optic wet cleaning. A few drops of solvent (typically isopropyl alcohol) are applied to lens paper which is folded in 4~6 layers and laying flat on the table. The operator then holds the connector vertically and cleans it in figure 8 motion. This must be followed by a dry cleaning step to prevent solvent residue, either by air duster or dry lint-free wipes.

Pre-saturated or GLC-T soaked fiber optic cleaning wipes – wet cleaning. Pre-saturated wipes are good for cleaning glass fiber or connector end faces. They are available in a convenient pre-saturated towelette. The towels are durable and non-linting. Pre-saturated wipes are a convenient option for field use.

Soiled connector end-faces are responsible for more downtime and wasted time when managing fiber optic networks than any other single cause. Whether you are long haul or local network, CATV or Telco, Military or 911/DOT, you can prevent most of these problems if you know how to use the proper connector cleaning tools and procedures.

For anyone new to fiber optics, I’d first like to explain that a connector end-face is the tip of the connector ferrule. It is held in precise alignment with an “alignment sleeve” or precision pins that enable high speed light to be passed through the connection. This alignment enables the fiber to be mated properly with another fiber in a connector, adapter or equipment port. The point at which two mated fibers come together is potentially the “weakest link” in any fiber optic network. To work properly, each of the end-faces must be absolutely clean using proper procedures. Not all cleaning methods provide the best results.

The importance of inspecting the connector end-face with a video microscope before and after cleaning can not be over-stated. This practice enables the technician to decide whether to accept, re-clean, re-polish or replace a connector. Don’t rely on a power meter to determine whether or not connectors are clean.

The Science of Cleaning

“Clean-room grade” materials are required when cleaning fiber optics. These materials are designed to clean gently and effectively without leaving behind un-removed soils, lint or chemical residue. A cleaning process must not damage either the end-face or sensitive plastic components.

Paper and cotton are not acceptable as they easily tear or shred and can deposit lint-like residues. Acceptable are certain non-woven materials, high-quality microfibers and precision clean-room grade foam. Always seek “clean-room grade” products from established sources. Cleaners vary in terms of worker-safety, plastic compatibility, environmental impact, cost and most importantly the effectiveness of the cleaner itself. A higher price is not always an indicator of higher quality, yet lower cost items should always be scrutinized.

There are two well-known procedures for cleaning fiber optic connections, Dry Cleaning and Wet Cleaning. A relatively new cleaning procedure, Compound (Combination) Cleaning, combines the best procedures used in Wet and Dry Cleaning and removes the widest range of OSP and OEM soils.

Although tools and procedures may vary, all three cleaning methods can be used to clean connectors on the both the jumper side and backplane of equipment racks.

Dry Cleaning

“Dry Cleaning” refers to the practice of cleaning a connector end-face (end-face) with a dry cleaning medium as opposed to “Wet Cleaning” which involves the use of liquid chemicals.

The Dry Cleaning technique is perhaps the best known cleaning method and is acceptable when the contamination is a light dust or hand oil. Dry Cleaning tools range from reel cassettes(fiber optic cleaner / cassette cleaner) to precision swabs(fiber optic cleaning swabs) and fiber optic inspection probes used for cleaning “back plane” connections. These tools should be made from clean room grade foam or high quality non-woven (lint-free) material, or specialty micro fiber. Cotton is not acceptable.

The Dry Cleaning technique was more acceptable when network demands were not as rigorous as they are today. As speeds and bandwidth have increased, the ‘dry method’ has proven to be less reliable than the more recently developed Compound (Combination) Cleaning process, which is explained in detail below.

One concern about the Dry Cleaning process is that it tends to move soils around the end-face rather than completely remove them. Dry Cleaning can also generate a static field that attracts dusty soils. Electrostatic Discharge (tribocharge phenomenon) can be created when two dissimilar materials are drawn over each other.

Dry cleaning is only marginally effective in removing complex soils such as gels or lubricants. Dry Cleaning effectiveness is limited to removal of some finger oils and light dust. Dry Cleaning rarely cleans the entire end-face edge-to-edge. Dry Cleaning is also a concern with dust soils, which can contain abrasive grit or sand. Should this method be chosen, video inspection of each connection is required.

Wet Cleaning

Wet Cleaning involves the use of solvents to clean end-faces. One wet cleaning technique is to moisten a pad with high-purity IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol) and then to lightly wet the end-face by “dragging” or “spotting” the moistened pad on the end-face prior to precision cleaning. Precision swabs are also used for Wet Cleaning.

A fundamental concept in understanding contamination is that ‘soils tend to be attracted to moisture’. Liquid fiber optic cleaners are formulated to evaporate quickly, which reduces the likelihood that they will attract airborne contaminates during the cleaning process. However, some liquid fiber optic cleaners actually evaporate too quickly, which can leave a soil/cleaner residue. On the other hand, if used improperly, liquid cleaners can transport soils to the end-face and actually ‘flood’ the connector making it exceptionally difficult to dry. Should this method be chosen, video inspection of each connection is required.

For example, some technicians have been known to spray solvent directly onto the connector end-face. This practice is never recommended since it tends to over saturate the connector. Drying a flooded connector is not a simple matter. Excess solvent can leach from ferrule sides even though a typical 400-600 micron view of the end-face may show a dry end-face image. The best practice is use as small amount of solvent as possible with an integrated drying technique.

Compound Cleaning

In 2005 a patent was issued for a new cleaning process. In this method a small amount of solvent is placed on a cleaning platform. The connector end-face is placed in contact with the moist area in an inverted position so that the solvent cannot enter the side of the ferrule. The end-face is then lightly drawn from “wet-to-dry” areas of the cleaning platform, which automatically dries the end-face surface.

Today, the Compound or Combination Cleaning process may vary somewhat but it remains essentially the same. The process integrates a lint-free wiping material with an appropriate solvent. The process also provides an ‘automatic drying’ step (of a minimal amount of liquid fiber optic cleaner) as part of the “wet-to-dry” cleaning procedure.

Advantages of Compound Cleaning

The Compound method cleans a wider range of ionic and non-ionic contaminants as well as those contaminants that exist in combination. When used with widely available applications specific tools Combination Cleaning also can clean the side of the ferrule as well as the end-face. The use of solvent also helps to reduce static fields. Finally, the amount of solvent (and actual solvent type selection) used is significantly reduced, which is an advantage both in terms of cost and environmental impact.

By Ed Forrest, ITW Chemtronics

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Service provider TDS Telecom, a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc., has launched a 1-Gbps Internet service in Hollis, NH — a stone’s throw from Cabling Installation & Maintenance’s headquarters in Nashua, NH, just across the border from Massachusetts. TDS held a press conference May 27 at the Hollis Town Hall, attended by local and state politicians as well as company representatives, to mark inauguration of the service.

“Reliable access to high-speed broadband is critical to connecting New Hampshire to the digital world,” TDS quoted U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) as saying. “It will take robust private sector investment to build out our nation’s fiber-optic network, and I applaud TDS for launching this new service in Hollis, NH.”

The service, called 1Gig, leverages a GPON-based fiber to the home (FTTH,NEOCLEAN) infrastructure built with the E7-2 Ethernet Service Access Platform (ESAP) and 700GE family of optical network terminals (ONTs) from Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX), according to the FTTx equipment provider. Actiontec, meanwhile, announced that it will supply its T2200H Universal Broadband Gateway as the preferred customer premises equipment (CPE).

For its part, Calix says the New Hampshire deployment means that its equipment is being used to support 1-Gbps broadband services in 28 networks in 20 states. “TDS is another example Cletop of a forward-looking service provider that is staying ahead of the needs of its subscribers as more bandwidth-intensive applications are introduced into the market,” commented John Colvin, fiber optic tools Calix senior vice president of North American sales, in a press statement. “With the 1Gig service, TDS will be the clear technology leader in this New Hampshire market and we are looking forward to partnering with the company as the service is expanded to other markets across the country.”

TDS says Hollis is the first community in its footprint to receive the service, which will pair the 1-Gbps downstream rate with 400 Mbps upstream. When bundled with voice and video services, Hollis subscribers can receive the service for less than $100, TDS adds. Subscribers to the 1Gig service also will receive remote PC support for free.

The previous top data rate available in Hollis was 300 Mbps. “What can you do with 1Gig? Whatever you want,” quipped Matt Apps, manager of Internet product management and development at TDS. TDS confirmed that it plans to roll out 1-Gbps FTTH services in other markets. one click cleaner“While Hollis is the first TDS-served community with 1Gig service, it won’t be the last. This is just the start for our launch of super-high speed Internet,” said Apps via a TDS press release.

A consortium of companies in the cloud-computing arena has developed and made available royalty-free (to consortium members) a specification that is “optimized to allow data center networks to run over a 25- or 50-Gigabit-per-second Ethernet link protocol,” the group stated. “This new specification will enable the cost-efficient scaling of network bandwidth delivered to server and storage endpoints in next-generation cloud infrastructure, where workloads are expected to surpass the capacity of 10- or 40-Gbit/sec Ethernet links deployed today.” The consortium includes Arista Networks, Broadcom Corporation, Google, Mellanox Technologies, and Microsoft Corp.

In a release announcing the standard specification’s availability, the 25 Gigabit Ethernet Consortium explained it was formed by the aforementioned companies “fiber optic microscope for the purpose of supporting an industry-standard, interoperable Ethernet specification that boosts the performance and slashes the interconnect costs per Gbit/sec between the server network interface controller (NIC) and top-of-rack (ToR) switch.” It further stated, “The specification prescribes a single-lane 25-Gbit/sec Ethernet and dual-lane 50-Gbit/sec Ethernet link protocol, enabling up to 2.5x higher performance per physical lane or twinax copper wire between the rack endpoint and switch compared to current 10- and 40-Gbit/sec Ethernet links. fiber optic cleaning kit The new specification is being made available royalty-free by the Consortium members to any data center ecosystem vendor or consumer who joins the consortium.”

Anshul Sadana, senior vice president of custom engineering with Arista Networks, said, “ fiber optic tools The companies joining the 25 Gigabit Ethernet Consortium are taking a major step forward in increasing the performance of data center networks. With ever-increasing server performance and with the uplinks from the leaf to spine layer migration to 100 Gbits/sec in the near future, it makes sense to increase the access speed from 10 Gbits/sec to 25 and 50 Gbits/sec.”

The consortium added, “ neoclean By deploying 25- and 50-Gbit/sec Ethernet in their networks, builders of mega-scale data centers such as Microsoft expect to achieve operational advantages, including reduced capex and opex.” Ideal 45-163 Yousef Khalidi, distinguished engineer with Microsoft, commented, “The new Ethernet speeds proposed by the Consortium give superior flexibility in matching future workloads with network equipment and cabling, with the option to ‘scale-as-you-go.’ In essence, the specification published by the 25 Gigabit Ethernet Consortium maximizes the radix and bandwidth flexibility of the data center network while leveraging many of the same fundamental technologies and behaviors already identified by the IEEE 802.3 standard.”

With fiber optics, our tolerance to dirt is near zero. Airborne particles are about the size of the core of SM fiber and are ususlly silica based- they may scratch PC connectors if not removed! Test equipment that has fiber-bulkhead outputs need periodic cleaning, since they may have hundreds of insertions of test cables in short time frames. Here’s a summary of what we have learned.

1. Always keep protective “dust caps” on connectors, bulkhead splices, patch panels or anything else that is going to have a connection made with it. Dust caps themselves may contain dust so whenever a connector is to be used, clean it.
2. Use any of the commercial fiber optic cleaning kit to clean connectors and mating adapters. Alternatively, use fiber optic cleaning wipes and isoproply alcohol to clean the connectors. Some solvents MIGHT attack epoxy, so only pure alcohol should be used. Cotton swabs and cloth leave threads behind. Some optical cleaners leave residues. Residues usually attract dirt and make it stick.
3. All “canned air” has a liquid propellant. Years ago, you could buy a can of plain dry nitrogen to blow things out with, but it’s long gone. Today’s aerosol cleaners use non-CFC propellant and will leave a residue unless you 1. hold them perfectly level when spraying and 2. spray for 3-5 seconds before using to insure that any liquid propellant is expelled from the nozzle. These cans can be used to blow dust out of bulkheads with a connector in the other side or an active device mount (xmit/rcvr). NEVER use compressed air from a hose (they emit a fine spray of oil from the compressor!) or blow on them (you breath is full of moisture , not to mention all those yukky germs!)
4. A better way to clean these bulkheads is to remove both connectors and clean with fiber optic cleaning wipes, then use a fiber optic cleaning swabs made of the same material with alcohol on it to clean out the bulkhead.
5. Detectors on optical power meter should also be cleaned with the fiber optic cleaning wipesoccasionally to remove dirt. Take the connector adapter off and wipe the surface, then air dry.
6. Ferrules on the connectors/cables used for testing will get dirty by scraping off the material of the alignment sleeve in the splice bushing. Some of these sleeves are molded glass-filled thermoplastic and sold for multimode applications. These will give you a dirty connector ferrule in 10 insertions! You can see the front edge of the connector ferrule getting black! The alignment sleeve will build up an internal ledge and create a gap between the mating ferrules – viola: a 1-2 dB attenuator! Use the metal or ceramic alignment sleeve bulkheads only if you are expecting repeated insertions. Cleaning the above reguires agressive scrubbing on the ferrules with the fiber optic cleaning wipes and tossing the bulkhead away.
7. You can buy a fiber optic cleaning kit for fiber optics. They are good solutions but perhaps not as cost effective as making your own to meet your needs.