Page 146 - Optical Communications Essentials

Connectors and Splices

136 Chapter Eight

the system. This method does add one extra connector pair loss to the system
budget. This method also allows the use of angle-polished connectors.

SMA optical connector. The SMA 905 or 906 series of lightwave connectors
were among the original optical fiber connectors designed for multimode data
communication applications. Their applications include local-area networks,
data processing networks, active device termination, premise installations, and
connections for instrumentation. They use the proven and durable compact
metal housing from the standard SMA electrical connector that was developed
in the 1960s. The SMA connectors use a threaded interface and have typical
insertion losses of less than 0.25dB for multimode fibers. SMA 905 connectors
have a straight ferrule while the SMA 906 connectors have a stepped design
which uses a plastic sleeve for alignment.

LC connector. Lucent developed the LC connector to meet the growing demand
for small, high-density fiber optic connectivity on equipment bays, in distribu-
tion panels, and on wall plates. Two common and proven technologies were
combined in the LC connector. These are the industry-standard RJ-45 tele-
phone plug interface and ceramic ferrule technology. The advantage of the RJ-
45 housing is that it provides a reliable and robust latching mechanism for the
LC connector. The LC connector has a six-position tuning feature to achieve
very low insertion loss performance by optimizing the alignment of the fiber
cores.
The LC connectors are available in both simplex and duplex configurations.
They are available in industry-standard beige and blue and will accommodate
900-µm buffered fiber and 1.60-mm (0.063-in) and 2.40-mm (0.094-in) jacketed
cable. Duplex and simplex LC adapters with either ceramic or metal sleeves are
available from a variety of manufacturers.

MU connector. The MU connector is an SFF connector that was developed by
NTT. Basically it can be considered as a smaller version of the SC-type connector.
It is based on a 1.25-mm ceramic ferrule and utilizes a single free-floating ferrule
independent of the backbone. It has a plastic housing and uses a push-pull latch-
ing mechanism. It is available in simplex, duplex, and higher-count-channel
styles. The MU connector is suitable both for board-mounted applications and for
distribution-cable assemblies to allow connections in simplex networks.

MT-RJ connector. The MT-RJ is an SFF connector with two fibers in one
precision-molded plastic ferrule, as shown in Fig. 8.15. It was designed to meet
the desire for an interface technology that is significantly lower in cost and
size than the duplex SC connector. The MT-RJ uses an improved version of an
industry-standard RJ-45 type of latch. The MT-RJ connector performs equally
well for multimode and single-mode fiber applications. Its principal application
is for horizontal cabling needs to the desktop. Products in the MT-RJ connector

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