Optical fibers: Cleaning and maintenance for a flawless network

Today in this age of IT revolution the optical fibers have become the backbone of telecommunication sector and are being highly used all around the globe. As the demand for more bandwidth and high speed connections have been on a constant rise in the past few years, it has led to the widespread use of these cables due to its advantages over traditional copper cables. Though these kinds of fibers are a little costly in terms of maintenance and initial setup, but the benefits of this technological achievement far outweighs its liabilities. One of the biggest advantages includes the very high bandwidth capacity of the cable, the speed of the data transfer and the highly secure channels for communication.

Due to our dependence on fiber optics these days, it is very important to keep these links error free with maximum up time. This is the reason why cleaning of fiber optics is a crucial step in the process of optical fiber maintenance. Do you know that if a cable core of 9 micrometer is contaminated with an impurity of 1 micrometer then the communication system may develop a partial loss of signal or even a complete communication failure? There are various methods of cleaning the fiber ends so that the connectors and cable stay free from any impurities.

• Dry cleaning- In this method of cleaning, no liquid chemicals or solvents is used for removing impurities. It has an advantage that it does not stain the cable ends but some tough stains or impurities might not be removed by this method.
• Wet cleaning- As the name states, it is the opposite of dry cleaning as various kinds of volatile solvents or chemicals might be used to de-contaminate the cable surface.
• Non-Abrasive cleaning- In this method the surface to be cleaned is not touched physically. An air duster is used to blow out any dust particles from the surface.
• Abrasive cleaning- Special lint free wipes or swabs may be used for cleaning in this type. It also includes rubbing and polishing of the cable ends.

There are many Fiber optic cleaning products available in the market for different applications depending upon the type and condition of the cable to be worked upon. For example some loose dirt on the cable may be simple blown off using special compressed air canister. Then there are the lint free wipes which may be used to polish out any stains of oil or dust left on the cable. For wet cleaning there are many solvents available in the market including isopropyl alcohol, etc.

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