The pigtail consists of a fiber optic connector and a section of optical cable. The pigtail has only one end with a fiber optic connector, while the other end is a broken end of the fiber optic core, used to connect fiber optic transceivers or fiber optic equipment. So in this article, we will talk about the classification, characteristics, applications, and precautions for using fiber optic pigtails.
Classification, characteristics, and precautions of fiber optic pigtails
1、 Overview of tail fibers
Tail fiber, also known as bare fiber, has a fiber optic connector at one end and a broken end of the fiber optic cable core at the other end. The end with a fiber optic connector is used to connect equipment, and the broken end of the fiber optic cable core is fused with other fiber optic cable core broken ends to achieve minimum insertion loss. The structure of pigtails and jumpers is very similar. Simply put, the jumper is cut from the middle to form two pigtails. The tail fiber has various connectors, with a typical tail fiber diameter of 0.9mm and installed in the ODF device.
2、 Classification of tail fibers
The main types of tail fibers include single core tail fibers, dual core tail fibers, 4 core tail fibers, 12 core bundle tail fibers, 12 color bundle tail fibers, SC bundle tail fibers, FC bundle tail fibers, LC bundle tail fibers, and ST bundle tail fibers. ETU-LINK provides multiple types of tail fibers to choose from: multimode (OM1, OM2, OM3), single mode (OS2) depending on the fiber mode; According to the number of optical fibers, there are single fiber, double fiber, and multiple fibers; According to the grinding and polishing types of connectors, there are PC, UPC, and APC. The tail fiber is equipped with an external sheath, which can protect the tightly wrapped buffer layer cable from damage. When space allows, it is easy to peel off the external sheath, so that the tail fiber has a tighter bending radius and occupies less space.
3、 Characteristics of fiber optic tail fiber products
1. Insertion loss ≤ 0.2dB
2. Return loss: PC/UPC ＞ 35dB APC ＞ 60dB
3. Working temperature: -40~+55 ℃
4. 0.9mm, 2.0mm, 3.0mm
Tail fibers are divided into single mode tail fibers and multimode tail fibers, which can be distinguished by color, wavelength, and transmission distance. The outer sheath color of the multimode tail fiber is orange OM1/OM2 and lake blue OM3. The multimode tail fiber has a wavelength of 850nm and a transmission distance of 500m, which is used for short distance connections; The outer sheath of single mode tail fiber is yellow in color, with wavelengths of 1310nm or 1550nm, and its transmission distance is longer, up to 10km or 40km.
