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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Are you dealing with fiber optic issues? Get rid of it, with proper cleaning materials!

Today’s fast paced communication networks rely on optical fibers to provide users fast communications. Fibers are the thin strings that are made up of glass or plastic material and use light signals to carry data at enormous speed.
One important issue that is directly associated with cable performance is that the transmission medium is susceptible to contamination and damage. As a result of contamination, and weak structure of cables, optical fibers fail to reach the goal they are designed for, “fast data transmission speed”.

Lets’ have a brief idea about problems that cause loss of light signal:
Contamination: The presence of minute and unwanted particles is the major reason of signal loss during transmission! These minor constituents include:

• Dirt
• Oil
• Spotting

Damage: The surface of the fiber cable is prone to damages like:

• Scratches
• Pitting
• Chips

Therefore, for smooth communication and protection of fiber cables from any contamination and damage, the cleaning of fiber optic cable and connectors becomes essential.

There are number of cleaning materials available in the market. Some of the cleaning products are designed for the optical fiber industry while others are generic in nature and can also be utilized to achieve the same purpose.

Discussed below are some common materials used for optical fiber cleaning:
Swabs: These are the small piece of soft cloth that is most commonly used for cleaning purposes. Each of these has their own use. Few examples of swabs are:
Cotton tipped: These are the variable sized sticks with different materials. You can use them dry, or wetted dipped in cleaning fluid of your choice. They are not the best suitable options for tight or unseen areas where the cotton wrapped on the sticks come out of swap, but are the least expensive type of cleaners.

Foam tipped: They are the medium priced and variable sized tips used with the cleaning solutions of your size. It requires lots of care to wet them properly.
Poly film: These are the newest style of fiber optic cleaning products that use woven film similar to the reel and tape cleaners. The woven piece of fiber is draped around the end of the cleaning stick that can be used for both dry and wet cleaning. Poly firm swabs works well in removing oil and dust particles from cable and connector surface.

Apart from this, alcoholic materials like dispensers, canned spray, and wipes like natural fiber, pre-moistened or synthetic wipes other the other examples of cleaning products.

How visual inspection of fiber optic cable is conducted?

In order to check continuity in the fiber optic cable, testing is the major factor to be considered. Thus before starting up with the work in fiber optic cable plant a technician needs to check the continuity, end to end loss and lastly find solutions to the problem coming in the cable.
Usually, there three basic tests conducted for fiber optic testing:

• Visual inspection
• Loss testing
• Network testing

The first and foremost test conducted is visual inspection. Before correcting the problem one needs to see where the problem is in the cable. Thus if there are any cracks, slices, dust, dirt or chips in the cable then it can easily be determined during the visual inspection.
Three basic steps are covered under it:

• Visual tracing: During this process of testing a tracer is used. It is a pen-like instrument that has LED source or light bulb. When the tracer is attached to the fiber a light is transmitted through the core of the cable. The light emitted helps in detecting the functioning of the cable. If there is no light emitted in the tracer then it indicates that there is problem in the cable and vice-versa, if light is emitted then cable is working properly. Once you have detected that there is damage in the cable your further step is to look out for visible signs of damage like cracked links, kinks etc.
• Visual fault location: During this process visual fault locator (VFL) tool is used. Its helps in finding fault location in the cable via visible laser beam. A bright red light would be seen glowing on the area where any broken link or kink is present. This tool is very useful in finding faults in small cables, as well as near the connectors where OTDR tool is of no use. Aside these you can even use this tool to verify and optimize the pre-polished slice of cables.
• Visual connector inspection by microscope: Aside checking the kinks and broken links in the cables via fault locator, a technician also needs to check whether there is any dust, dirt or polishing defects in the cable. To inspect such problems fiber optic inspection microscopes are used. With the help of it several angles of the cable can be measured closely. Thus it is the easiest method of inspecting any problem in the fiber cable.
• Likewise for visual inspection various tools are used, same goes out with other tests (loss and network test). However, Fiber optic test equipment tools used for loss and network test are different. Thus before conducting inspection one must be sure about the tools being used for respective testing are correct.

Why it is important to clean fiber cables?

As we know fiber cables are the thin strings of glass or plastic that use light signals to transfer data from one location to another. In actual, light travels faster than electrical current. That is why fiber cables are the high used guided media used in communication networks. Fiber cables are easy susceptible to dirt, oil frequently from human hands, and other contaminations. These deposits have large effect on the rate of transferring light signals, the optical fibers are known for.

If there some hindrances materials (discussed above) present in the fiber optics connectors, light beams could not carry data signals smoothly. Therefore the path from where the light signals will pass through should be clean for better performance.

Now one may ask which part of the connectors needs cleaning. The answer is: connectors’’ ferrule. A ferrule is a ceramic, plastic or stainless steel part which gives fiber cable durability, mechanical strength and prevents it from contamination. These cylindrical shaped parts (ferrule) get contaminated from stain, dust, and debris due to continuous plugging and unplugging. As we discussed before, deposits on the ferrule will block the light track and therefore, seriously reduce the fiber cable performance.

So, it is important to clean every fiber connector prior to mating. Cleaning of fiber optic connectors involves the use of various components discussed below:

Dry cleaning method of cleaning fiber cables involves the use of cartridge, dry wipes and pocket style cleaners. Tools: Cartridge Cleaning Tools: OPTIPOP and CLETOP Pocket Style Cleaning Tools: CARDCLEANER

Reel based fiber optic cleaners are easy to use and reliable. To clean optical fiber connectors, they use 2 micrometer weaved soft cloth known as polyester cloth. On the other hand, CLETOP stick are specially designed cleaning devices come in come in 2.5mm and 1.25mm versions and are used to clean connectors joining bulkhead adapters, sleeves, and receptacles.

To carry out the task of cleaning these sticks are inserted into receptacles or bulkheads in order to make the stick contact the connector end face. Then rotate the stick and pull it back. But you cannot use the stick again for next cleaning. Another method of fiber optic cleaning involves the use of canned air duster. These air dusters are an ideal way to blow the lost dust particles from the end-face of the fiber cable connector.

Apart from variety of cleaning devices, there are numerous fiber optic testing kits available that make the task of fiber cable inspection and testing simple. For Further details just Contact Us .