FOC Blogs
Technical Article: Loose Tight Buffer, Time to Define What We Mean
Published 10.6.15 in the IWCS Proceedings from the 64th International Cable & Connectivity Symposium (2015) by Wayne Kachmar, President Technical Horsepower Consulting LLC. with Fiber Optic Center, Inc. Abstract As the optical fiber and cable industry...
Single & Multifiber Interferometer: from ‘complication’ to contamination to automation
When it comes to testing we need three things: speed, accuracy and simplicity. Building on DORC’s 21 year of experience, the new single fiber ZX-1 micro PMS and multifiber ZX-1 micro Array successfully tackle these issues. These systems are super compact,...
Polishers on the Cable Assembly Line: The Need to Simplify
On the cable assembly line, the request for a polisher that allows you to program your processes through an easy-to-use PC-based Windows touch screen is constant. The need is to simplify and once programmed, have displays of your settings for speed, time, pressure,...
Termination process, connectors and cleaving
During the termination process, connectors must be cleaved before they can be polished and laser cleaving increases production yield and connector performance. Laser Cleaving (integrated denubbing and epoxy removal) has been considered a solution by several to...
Multiple Application Platform
Still known by most as the JDSU MAP, the Viavi (formerly JDSU) Multiple Application Platform (also known by its nickname MAP-200) is an optical test and measurement platform optimized for cost-effective development and manufacturing of optical transmission...
Noticing a Large Epoxy Ring in a Ferrule With Visual Inspection
Through the new website feature at Fiber Optic Center, AskFOC, where customers can ask technical questions as another option of support, there are several questions that come in on a consistent basis. One such question centers around noticing a large epoxy ring with...
Wafer Level Optics – an example of micro imprinting
What is an example of micro imprinting? One of the best examples of wafer level optics is the camera module on your mobile phone. The basic idea is to fabricate layers of microlenses that are stacked up to make the complete optical element, which is then bonded...
Wayne Kachmar answers, “Are all cable lines alike?”
Are all cable lines alike? I've heard this many times before and typically it's from operations type folks who have seen both copper and fiber cable operations recognize the similarity of the process but do not understand the subtle differences between processing a...
Why is high refractive index important?
Optical polymers are very specialized materials. Not only are they lightweight, easy to process, strong, inexpensive and transparent; some of them (like the OKP polyesters) have high refractive index. High refractive index?? Refractive index is a measure of how light...
Cross Sectioning of Fiber Optic Connectors: The Three Methods, Advantages and Disadvantages
Cross Sectioning of Fiber Optic Connectors questions answered here... how many methods and what are the options? There are currently three methods of looking inside a fiber optic connector: Non- Destructive X Ray Non- Destructive Sonar...
Insertion Loss Measurement, Not a Trivial Task
Here at Fiber Optic Center, we are asked questions daily about insertion loss measurement. It might seem like a trivial task to make an insertion loss measurement on a fiber optic connector but it's not – it is impossible. Only the loss of a connection can be...
Fiber Optic Polishing Fixture Maintenance: Fiber Optic Polishing Fixture Contamination and Ultrasonic Cleaning
To help ensure consistent polishing results, maintenance of all fiber optic polishing equipment is essential. The Preventive Maintenance program for polishing fixtures should include periodic ultrasonic cleaning. This is true for any fiber optic polishing fixtures,...
Automation in Fiber Optic Cable Assembly
At Fiber Optic Center, we pride ourselves in knowing fiber optic cable assembly production inside and out. We often encounter people outside the industry trying to get in and asking, ‘why don’t we just automate the entire process?’. Great question and quite a few...
Does your Lapping Film supplier do all it can to protect the environment?
Fiber Optic Center is committed to choosing suppliers that value the environment. Almost all manufacturing processes produce waste. With thoughtful engineering, the toxicity of this waste can be diminished. Making lapping film is no different. When Fiber Optic Center...
How to Minimize Allergic Reactions When Handling Epoxies
Almost all epoxies used in the fiber optic industry are two-part epoxy systems consisting of a resin and a hardener or activator. All the chemicals in these two-part epoxies can cause an allergic reaction, but the component most commonly causing an allergic reaction...
“How can I tell I have over-polished a connector?“ asked more often than you might think…
Primarily, the indicator of over-polished connectors is poor repeatability in measurements of the return loss and insertion loss. For the majority of “spring-loaded ferrule connectors” e.g.; LC, SC, MU, FC. Determining over-polishing of the connector is difficult to...
Solutions at Fiber Optic Center
FOC’s ÅngströmLink™ web page is your connection to unique optical products to meet new and emerging technical challenges including optical plastics, hard cure, soft cure, optical fluid, optical coatings, thixotropic gels, optical polyimide, silica spheres:...
Why the Quality of Plastic Optics Has Greatly Improved Recently
From Cracker Jack’s Magnifying Glass to SmartPhone In recent decades the quality of plastic optics has improved drastically. What was formerly considered to be cheap, low-quality lenses are now high-quality, lightweight, low-cost, precision optics. These optics can...
Let’s get really small
Nothing in the ordinary world informs our intuition about how materials will behave at molecular interfaces. The cartoon below shows a typical imprinting process: a photoimageable imprint resin formed into a layer on a rigid substrate (silicon or glass wafer), with...
Anatomy of a Nightmare: 2001 and beyond
A large number of U.S. fiber company presidents woke up on Jan. 1, 2002, looked in the mirror, and said, ”I don’t have a business plan.” For the previous two years, business was crazy good. At OFC in 2000, a supplier asked me how we were doing. I said “Great. We...
Selection of Index Matching Materials
Designing optics for index matching requires knowledge of the refractive index of the adjoining optical materials. By convention, the value of the refractive index at the Sodium D line (589nm, ‘yellow’) is usually quoted for optical materials, even when the...
The “weakest link” of a connectorized cable assembly and more…
In terms of long-term reliability, the “weakest link” of a connectorized cable assembly is the area within the ferrule which contains the strip “transition point” (where the buffered fiber is stripped down to bare fiber) and the majority of the injected epoxy. In...
Researchers Announce New Capabilities of Fiber Optic Circuits
Published 6.25.15 in the New York Times: An Advance May Double the Capabilities of Fiber Optics by John Markoff Researchers have announced an advance that could double the capacity of fiber-optic circuits, potentially opening the way for networks to carry more data...
Encircled Flux – A Relatively Non-Technical Overview
Ever tried measuring the insertion loss of a Multi-Mode connector using a single-mode launch fiber? You tend to get really good results! It's like squirting a 1/2 inch garden hose into a 3 inch fire hose from a foot away. It's not difficult to catch nearly all of...
Assuring the Correct Amount of Epoxy is in the Connector
This issue has been asked of me many times by numerous experienced and new start-up assembly operations of fiber optic connector assemblies. The questions of: “How much is enough”? and “How do I know that I have the right amount of epoxy in the connector”? The answer...
Polymers – everything you ever wanted to know
Welcome to the first blog post on Polymers from FOC. If you begin following me on Twitter, you will read many insights on FOC's different specialty products that I manage. I titled this first blog "everything you ever wanted to know in Randall’s World" but hope you...
Which Epoxy Packaging is Right for you?
Of course you need the right material, but once you have chosen that, which packaging makes the most sense? A major determining factor is how much handling do you want to do? So let’s review the epoxy application process. Almost all epoxies used in fiber optics are...
What to Expect When Working with Foreign Suppliers
OKP has been my introduction to working with a foreign supplier. We stock this moldable plastic at Fiber Optic Center to make it readily available to users in North America. Should be easy, right? With all the talk these days about quick delivery service, same day...
Changing your connector supplier
Most of our customers know the pain when it comes to switching suppliers or changing specification on connectors. The market keeps us sharply informed about new connector versions with attractive pricing while we do not always know the impact of switching from...
Why Quality Matters in Optical Fiber Manufacturing
Many thousands, likely hundreds of thousands, of people are employed in the fiber optics industry in various positions and working with components, networks, cabling, construction and splicing equipment and all the business aspects of all of that. However, only a very...
Let’s Talk Imprint Materials and what we really mean…
If you are my age you will remember the rubber stamp kit you had as a kid. Today’s imprint? Same thing, just really tiny. Apparently the only way to satisfy our ever increasing desire for smaller, faster, lighter devices in our homes and to carry around or attach...
Is Bi-Directional Testing the Silver Bullet to Cut All Your Optical Testing Time in Half?
Is Bi-Directional testing the silver bullet to cut all your optical testing time in half? The simple answer is…no. However, there certainly are areas where it will help. It’s fair to say most assembly houses test the optical loss of a single mated pair using a...
What Is Optical Fiber and How Does it Work?
Optical fiber is used for many applications in almost every industry. The most common application is within cabled structures that are used for transmission of light or data. Many of us know that fibers are used for the internet communication network but optical...
Do You Want Consistent Polishing Processes? Let’s Start with the Polishing Film
A lapping film must have the highest lot-to-lot consistency. When you establish your process there are many factors to control and the film might rank at the top. Others include, but aren’t limited to the quality of your polishing machine, its fixturing and rubber...
The Processes Involved in Termination Play a CRITICAL Role in Determining the Long-term Reliability of the Product
The processes involved in Termination play a CRITICAL role in determining the long-term reliability of the product, and more importantly, errors made in the Termination processes often cannot be detected by subsequent production-line tests / measurements! Even...
Continuing the Legacy to Help Light the World
Here at Fiber Optic Center we are continuing the legacy of New Bedford in helping bring light to the world. Follow me for a moment here…. New Bedford is commonly referred to as the ‘The Whaling City’ for its deep history in whaling. During this period it was one of...
Defining Type and Semi-tight Buffers as Opposed to Loose Tubes in Optical Cables
One of the questions that I've been asked about many times is; how tight is the buffer on the cable that I am providing? Is it a “true tight buffer” or is it “semi-tight” or “loose tight buffer” or one of the other various terms thrown around such as tight bound,...
Technical Article: Single Step Polishing (SSP) after Laser Cleaving
Published 5.1.15 in NASA Tech Briefs: Fiber Optic Connectors by Didi Hachnochi, CEO Sagitta Engineering Solutions Ltd. and Ben Waite, President and CEO Fiber Optic Center With the standardization of 4G wireless, the increase in cloud storage and computing, and the...
