Articles by FOC Tips

When planning and purchasing cable assemblies for any installation, verify from your supplier that they provide connector end-faces that meet or exceed industry standards on end-face cleanliness (for example, IEC 61300-3-35). Meeting these standards is common...

As we all know, the internal temperature of the deposition tube is what matters, since the reaction is occurring on the inside. However, the process pyrometer is reading the external temperature. SG Controls offers a diameter control system, which controls and...

You do not need to purchase an expensive blackbody unit. Instead, purchase a hand-held standard that is calibrated with a blackbody standard. In addition, you could temporarily mount the hand-held pyrometer on the fire carriage to spot-check the process pyrometer...

When scratches appear after using the final film, this typically relates back to earlier operational steps. It’s important to isolate and correct problematic issues throughout the assembly process. At Fiber Optic Center, we developed the ÅngströmLap Final Polish...

Deposition tube temperature is critical, which means your process pyrometer must be calibrated. To ensure accuracy, I use a handheld calibration standard that is independent of the process pyrometer. Look through the pyrometer viewfinder, moving through ...

Refractive index is a measure of how light propagates through a material. The higher the refractive index the slower the light travels, which causes a correspondingly increased change in the direction of the light within the material. What this means for lenses is...

Jacket – The jacket is the external covering of the fiber optic cable. While it offers protection, its primary purpose is not to provide strength. Essentially, the jacket holds all components together: the aramid strength members and buffered fiber, which...

IL @ 1550 higher than 1310 A connector, or an entire product design, showing a significantly higher Insertion Loss at 1550 than at 1310 indicates the likely presence of a stress point on the fiber somewhere in the cable assembly—most likely a fiber bend that...

The ferrule hole bore must be slightly larger in diameter than the fiber to allow the fiber to be inserted into the hole. The smaller the ferrule hole diameter, the more precisely the fiber will be centered in the ferrule (thus, lower Insertion Loss can be ...

For each connector body, the connector manufacturer specifies the crimp tool, die set (hexagonal or round die), crimp sleeve, and crimp force to achieve the best crimp and maximum pull force for that assembly. It’s absolutely critical to use the proper tools and...