Why do fiber optic transceivers need to be cleaned?
Fiber optic transceivers may be small in size, but they’re a result of highly sophisticated engineering and manufacturing. Even though they may look compact and sturdy, dust and dirt can build up in the output side of the module.
If the receiver or the transmitter connector end faces are not clean, you might run into some severe issues including: data disruptions, optical impairments, as well as damage to the fiber core.This means that you do need to clean them from time to time to avoid issues.
Here's what you need:
- Connector Cleaning Tips
- 1-Click Fiber Optical Cleaner
- Fiber End Face Inspector
Step 1:
Check the transceiver connector end face by using the fiber end face inspector. By doing this, you'll be able to see all the dust and dirt that has been built up.
Step 2:
Take your connector cleaning tip and insert it into the output side of the module. The gel will pick up much of the dirt inside. However, this usually won’t be enough.
Step 3:
You’re going to take your one click fiber optical cleaner, which has a tiny microfiber end to pick up more dust, and insert that into the transceiver. Click the button once which will quickly vibrate the microfiber end to pick up the rest of the dirt.
Step 4:
Finally, check the inspector to see if the transceiver is clean. If it’s not, just repeat steps 2 and 3 until you don’t see anything on the inspector.
All done!
Although this is a very simple process, at AddOn, cleaning is an essential step in our testing and manufacturing processes. The cleaning process may vary depending on the transceiver form factor, but overall, it’s going to be very similar to this process.