Cleaning Guide for Fiber Optic Connections

Contaminated fiber optic connectors can often lead to degraded performance and costly failures. To ensure proper performance and reliability, thorough care must be taken to ensure the installation and maintenance of those fiber connectors terminated with fiber optic patch cables and fiber optic pigtails. A properly maintained and cleaned fiber optic cable will help reduce contaminant transfer to an optical interface. How to clean a fiber optic connection? In this post, a brief cleaning guide for fiber optic connections will be given.

Contamination and Inspection

To better understand how to clean a fiber optic connection, it is necessary to know some basic information about contamination. Fiber optic cable contamination comes in various ways. There are two common forms of contamination: dust and oils. Without noticing, oils from your fingers will leave a defect on the fiber noticeable under a fiber scope. And oils also tend to trap dust against the fiber, which can result in scratches on both the fiber connector and the fiber optic it is mated to. Simply removing and re-inserting a fiber has the possibility of contaminating the end of the connector in a facility that may have a higher level of dust. Fiber caps used to prevent fiber ends from being scratched, will collect dirt, oil and dust, and then transfer those contaminants to the fiber when used. So cap ends should be cleaned before inserting them into an interface. It is also important to note that a new cable does not guarantee a clean cable. Any contamination in the fiber connection can cause failure of the component or even the whole system. It is very important that every fiber connector should be inspected and cleaned prior to mating. Cleaning fiber optic components is a requirement for quality connections between fiber optic equipment.

General Cleaning Process

Cleaning fiber optic equipment is one of the most basic and important procedures for the maintenance of fiber optic systems. The general cleaning process includes:

• Make sure that the lasers are turned off before you begin the inspection.
• Remove the protective endcap and store it in a small resealable container.
• Inspect the fiber connector, component, or bulkhead with a fiberscope.
• If the connector is dirty, clean it with a dry cleaning technique.
• Inspect the connector. If the connector is still dirty, repeat the dry cleaning technique.
• Inspect the connector. If the connector is still dirty, clean it with a wet cleaning technique followed immediately with a dry clean in order to ensure no residue is left on the endface. Note: Wet cleaning is not recommended for bulkheads and receptacles, for damage to equipment can occur.
• Inspect the connector again. If the contaminate still cannot be removed, repeat the cleaning procedure until the endface is clean.

Notes for Cleaning

During the process of cleaning a fiber optic connector or other qu, several things need to keep in mind. Read the reminders and warnings before you begin this process. Make sure that the lasers are turned off before you begin the inspection. Invisible laser radiation might be emitted from disconnected fibers or connectors. Do not stare into beams or view directly with optical instruments. Do not scrub the fiber against the fabric or clean over the same surface more than once. This can potentially contaminate or damage your connector. Throw away any used cleaning material, either cards or material cartridges, after use. Be careful not to contaminate the cleaning area of the wipe with your hands or on a surface during folding. Do not scrub the fiber against the wipe. If you do it, it can cause scratches and more contamination. Never use alcohol or wet cleaning without a way to ensure that it does not leave residue on the endface. Improper cleaning can also cause damage to the equipment.

Conclusion

Fiber optic connection cleaning process is a very necessary and critical process. The end of a fiber optic cable and the inner surface of an optical module lens constitute optical surfaces that should be properly cleaned and maintained to ensure optimum reliability and system performance. It is not just important to have the proper tools for the job, but also know when to use them and how to use them.