Fiber optic loss testing equipment – what you need to know about it?

Technology has brought revolution in every aspect of living. The tools and equipment that we use in our day to day activities all have made life easy. Of all these, electronic communication is something that has changed the ways of communiqué amongst people living at distant places.

All this has been possible with the emergence of optical fibres, cables that make use of glass fibres for transmission of signals. This amazing technology has brought high-end electronic communication to the next level by enabling the transfer of huge amount data at exceptional speed. However, one critical aspect of this technology is Fiber optic inspection. This article will shed some light on the basics that you need to know about testing and inspection of these fibres – Tools used –

1. Microscope – this device is used to deliver a lead, which is utilized to know whether the optical fiber is in place or not. Commonly used devices have an inbuilt illumination system that is helpful in detecting any breakage or problem in the circuit that was the cause of loss in the signal
.
2. Digital continuity/tone source – the modern day optical cables can be equipped with these tone sources to get the measure of how efficiently the transfer of signal is taking place. The unit functions in generating a signal internally from one end of the cable to the terminal point, thus measuring the efficiency & signal strength
.
3. Optical Power Measuring Device – it is an instrument used to measure the luminescence level of the unit. It works by throwing high intensity light signals and thereby measuring the efficiency of the signal transferred

These are the most important tools that are a part of Fiber optic testing equipment, apart from some others like optical wipes, connectors, and power meters. Things to be cautious about –
Before you actually begin with the task, you need to keep these basic things about testing –

1. The fact that fiber loss varies with the wavelength, makes it essential to use the testing wavelength similar to that of the working wavelength. Otherwise, there is a huge possibility of incorrect results
.
2. The light wave used for testing should also be same as the intended working light. For e.g. if the system is to be used for LED source, then it must be tested with an LED source and not a multimode source

All this gives you a brie idea about the fiber optic testing and equipment used in the process.

At last we can say that Fiber QA is a well reputed name known to deliver excellent fiber optic testing equipment.