Optical Fiber Testing Paul Minko EE 566 Oct. 22, 2003

Overview 1.The need for testing 2.Testing devices 3.Problems with today’s equipment. 4.Cost of equipment

Importance of Testing  Ensure the fiber has been Properly installed  Check IL and reflectance of all splices and connections  Providers must maintain high quality of customer service  Quickly locate problem areas for repair

Types of Testing End to End loss testing Cable Commissioning Splice and connector optimization System ORL characterization Dispersion verification and wavelength measurements

End to End Testing Both units must be referenced with the test jumpers Confirm power source is connected to test fiber Reading is only accurate if both units at same wavelength

Cable Commissioning Tests the cable for damage Double checks length and attenuation And measures the polarization mode dispersion

Reflectance Do to glass air interface Rayleigh backscattering Pr = Reflected Power Pi = Incident Power

Reflectometers Two types: 1. Optical Time Domain Reflectometer - Measures reflectance and ORL - Can characterize connectors and mechanical splices - Accuracy of plus/minus 2dB

Reflectometer 2. Optical Continuous Wave Reflectometer - Also measures reflectance and ORL - Some units measure bi-directional loss - Accuracy of plus/minus 0.4 dB to 1.0 dB

Difficulties Light source and power meter must be referenced at the same point. Wavelength of light source and power meter must be the same. Jumpers to test equipment can wear down

Leading Manufactures Agilent/HP Tektronix Fluke Advantest NetTest Fluke Networks Cal Instruments

Portable OTDR Agilent E6000C Mini-OTDR Noyes OLS 1 Optical Light Source Dynamic range: 45 dB Fiber break locator Multi-fiber testing for fast high-count cable qualification Perform power and loss measurement with the built-in light source and the power meter module. Price range: $10,000 - $16,000

Noyes Optical Light source Price range: $ to $ to for Laser source

Noyes Optical Power Meter Power measurements at 850, 1300, 1310,1550, and 1625 nm Full fiber documentation via Windows TM 95/98/NT 4.0 data analysis software Singlemode or multimode dual-wavelength testing Price range: $500 - $1600 Noyes OPM 6 & OLS 6 Optical Power Meter & Light Sources

References [1] Exfo - Fiber Optic Solutions Available: [2] American Tech Supply.com – Hardware Supplier Available: [3] Fiber Optics & Fiber Optic Manufactures Available: [4] Metrictest.com – Instrument provider Available: