What are the types of fiber optic connectors

There are also many types of optical fiber connectors, that is, optical fiber connectors that connect to optical modules, and they cannot be used with each other. So the question of the types of fiber optic connectors is particularly important. Below we will answer the types of fiber optic connectors for you!

Types of fiber optic connectors

One: The difference between PC/UPC/APC fiber cross section:

The cross section of the optical fiber connector should be divided into PC, UPC and APC. Among them, PC and UPC are fiber microsphere end faces are parallel to the end face of the ceramic body, while the fiber microsphere end face of APC is 8º from the end face of the ceramic body. beveled. The callback loss performance of the UCP connector is due to the PC connector.

PC and APC connectors are mainly used for fiber optic links that transmit digital signals, while APCs are mainly used for fiber optic links that transmit analog signals.

Two: FC type fiber optic connector:

This connector was first developed by Japanese NTT. FC is the abbreviation of Ferrule Connector, indicating that its external reinforcement method is a metal sleeve, and the fastening method is a turnbuckle. The earliest, FC-type connectors used ceramic pins for mating ports).

Such connectors are simple in structure, easy to operate, and easy to manufacture, but the fiber ends are more sensitive to dust, and are prone to Fresnel reflections, making it difficult to improve return loss performance.

Later, this type of connector was improved, and the contact pin (PC) with spherical end face was adopted, and the external structure was not changed, so that the performance of insertion loss and return loss was greatly improved.

Three: SC type fiber optic connector:

This is a fiber optic connector developed by Japan's NTT company. Its shell is rectangular, and the structure and dimensions of the pins and coupling sleeves used are exactly the same as those of the FC type. Among them, the end face of the pin is mostly PC or APC type grinding method; the fastening method is a plug-in latch type without rotation. This type of connector is inexpensive, easy to plug and unplug, small fluctuation in insertion loss, high compressive strength, and high installation density.

Four: ST type fiber optic connector:

Commonly used in optical fiber distribution frame, the shell is round, and the fastening method is turnbuckle. (For 10Base-F connections, the connector is usually ST type. Often used in fiber optic distribution frames), there are also many photoelectric converters that use this type of connector.

ST and SC interfaces are two types of fiber optic connectors. For 10Base-F connection, the connector is usually ST type, and for 100Base-FX, the connector is mostly SC type. The core of the ST connector is exposed, and the core of the SC connector is inside the connector.

Five: LC type connector

The LC type connector is researched and developed by the famous Bell Institute, and is made of a modular jack (RJ) latch mechanism that is easy to operate. The size of the pins and sleeves used is half the size of ordinary SC, FC, etc., which is 1.25mm. This can increase the density of fiber optic connectors in the fiber optic distribution frame. At present, in terms of single-mode SFF, LC-type connectors have actually occupied a dominant position, and the application in multi-mode is also growing rapidly.

Six: MT-RJ type connector

MT-RJ started from the MT connector developed by NTT. It has the same latching mechanism as the RJ-45 type LAN electrical connector. It is aligned with the optical fiber through the guide pins installed on both sides of the small sleeve. The optical fiber on the end face of the connector is designed in a double-core (0.75mm interval) arrangement. It is the next-generation high-density optical fiber connector mainly used for data transmission.

Seven: MPO/MTP fiber optic connector

A high-density fiber optic connector that supports more than 2 cores and more fibers in one connector. Currently, a 12-core MPO/MTP connector is usually used.

Mainly used in and terminated optical cable connectors in data centers, supporting 40G (12 cores) and 100G (24 cores) fiber channels.

There are two types of MPO/MTP connectors: those with guide pins (male) and those without guide pins (female)

MTP connector is an upgraded version of MPO connector, with better transmission performance, lower loss and higher denier. MPO/MTP connectors cannot be terminated on site. Even if some manufacturers develop on-site manufacturing processes, they are not suitable for large-scale use.

Eight: BFOC fiber optic connector:

The fiber optic interface developed by Siemens Electric Company of Germany for industrial Ethernet equipment.

The appearance is very similar to the ST connector, and the buckle method is exactly the same, but the ceramic core is slightly shorter than the ST connector. It is generally used in industrial Ethernet network equipment, such as industrial switches or single-chip microcomputers. more applications).

Nine: DIN47256 fiber optic connector

This is a connector developed in Germany. The pins and coupling sleeves used in this connector have the same structural dimensions as the FC type, and the end face treatment adopts PC grinding. Compared with the FC type connector, its structure is more complicated, and there is a spring that controls the pressure in the internal metal structure, which can avoid damage to the end face due to excessive insertion pressure. In addition, the mechanical precision of this connector is high, so the insertion loss value is small.

Ten: FDDI type connector

FDDI is mainly used in duplex fiber optic systems. The fddi backbone network and IEEE802.4 token bus conform to the ansi3t95 FDDI pmd specification.

Eleven: MU type connector

MU (Miniature unit Coupling) connector is the world's smallest single-core fiber optic connector developed by NTT, based on the SC-type connector that is currently most used. The connector uses a 1.25mm diameter sleeve and a self-retaining mechanism, which has the advantage of enabling high-density mounting. Utilizing MU's 1.25mm diameter sleeve, NTT has developed the MU connector series. They are available with receptacle type connectors (MU-A series) for fiber optic connection; backplane connectors with self-retaining mechanism (MU-B series) and simplified sockets for connecting LD/PD modules to plugs (MU-SR series) Wait. With the rapid development of fiber optic networks in the direction of larger bandwidth and larger capacity and the wide application of DWDM technology, the demand for MU-type connectors will also increase rapidly.

With the wide application of WDM technology, the demand for MU-type connectors will also grow rapidly.

Twelve: Biconic Connector (Biconic Connector)

The most representative product of this type of fiber optic connector was developed by Bell Labs in the United States. It consists of two precision-molded cylindrical plugs with frusto-conical ends and a double-conical plastic sleeve inside. The coupling components of the cylinder are composed.

Thirteen: MC connector

The interface method is the same as that of LC, but the sheath volume is smaller than that of LC, similar to MINI-LC connector, which is used for port connection of high-density distribution frame or equipment.

The above is all about the types of optical fiber connectors. Of course, people who do not often touch optical fibers may mistakenly think that the optical fiber connectors of GBIC and SFP modules are the same type, but they are not. The SFP module is connected to the LC fiber optic connector, while the GBIC is connected to the SC fiber optic fiber connector.