Fiber Optic Center Glossary

A format commonly used in ENG (Electronic News Gathering) and industrial television.

Coaxial connector with screw type coupling mechanism. Non-defined impedance. Frequency range DC to 300 MHz. Also known as a PL-259 Connector.

Maximum adhesion available from a pressure-sensitive adhesive, determined by the force necessary to remove a strip of tape from a surface after an extended period of time.

Elongation at failure.

A Federal Communications Commission designation for the band from 300 MHz to 3,000 MGz (3GHz) on the radio spectrum.

The spherical endface polish of a ferrule and fiber that is performed on a polishing machine to reduce reflections. Typically 55 dB return loss.

Optical radiation for which the wavelengths are shorter than those for visible radiation, that is approximately between 1 nm and 400 nm.

A range of electromagnetic waves in the non-visible spectrum, with wavelengths from 10 to 400 nm (shorter than visible light).

The degradation caused by long time exposure of a material to sunlight or other ultraviolet rays containing radiation.

Part of the light spectrum. Ultraviolet rays can cause chemical changes in rubbery materials.

A connector used to connect cables to a rocket or missile prior to launching and which is unmated from the missile at time of launch. (MIL-STD)

A transmission line in which voltages on the two conductors are unequal with respect to ground, i.e., a coaxial cable.

A transmission line in which voltages on the two conductors are unequal with respect to ground (e.g., a coaxial cable).

According to Telecommunications Industry of America (TIA), a negative protrusion where the fiber optic is lower than the endface of the connector within the ferrule.

When a laser diode in a Gigabit transmission system only fills a small percentage of the fiber core.

A nonprofit laboratory which examines and tests devices, materials and systems for safety, not for satisfactory operation.

A nonprofit laboratory which examines and tests devices, materials and systems for safety, not for satisfactory operation.

Measuring in one direction, could still be Dual MTJ.

Same as Point-to-Point communication

Officially called the Unicode Worldwide Character Standard

Stranding where each successive layer has a different lay length thereby retaining a circular form without migration of strands from one layer to another.

A conductor stranding configuration in which all layers have the same direction of lay.

A conductor with more than one layer of helically laid wires with the direction of lay and length of lay the same for all layers.

A cable conductor constructed with a central core surrounded by more than one layer of helically-laid wires, with all layers having a common length and direction of lay.

A conductor constructed in bunch form having more than one layer in a concentric stranding with a common length and direction of lay and contains 19, 27, 37 and any number of strands.

An auxiliary power unit providing continuous power to a telephone system in case commercial power is lost.

This type of cable has a large central tube in which the fibers are grouped using color-coded binder thread. Unitube cables are physically smaller than stranded-type cables. Also known as central tube or LXE cable.

An alternative system proposed by Bell Communications Research (Bellcore) for in-building cordless-phone service.

A wiring standard for telephone service to an individual phone. In a modular plug, the two center conductors are the primary pair, and supplementary pairs radiate out concentrically. For example, in an RJ-45 (eight pin) plug, pins 4,5 are the primary pair with pins 3,6 - 2,7 - 1,8 forming the supplementary pairs. Note that this is not compatible with TIA/EIA 568-A�s recommendation of T-568A or T-568B.

A bus for transmitting data between computing devices. Rated at 11 Mbits per second, it offers about 100 times the throughput of a Serial bus.

Cable that is not protected from electromagnetic and radio-frequency interference by a metal sheathing.�

Normal copper building cable, capable of high-speed data transmission. Techniques exist to address the signal impairments due to the transmission characteristics of copper media and to limit the radiated emission of UTP media.

A term describing a specific fiber optic contact polishing protocol (process), yielding improved return loss.

The transmission of an RF signal from an earth station to a satellite.

A family of polymers ranging from rubbery to brittle. Usually formed by the reaction of a di-isocynate with a hydroxyl.

The user end of an access network, similar to an ONU but not necessarily optical.

Ultraviolet adhesive hardened by the use of ultraviolet radiation. Normally date coded.

Connectors manufactured with a clear body and ferrule to allow the curing of ultraviolet adhesive, bonding the fiber optic inside the ferrule.