Agilent Technologies Agilent 86120C manual Cleaning Connections for Accurate Measurements

Making Measurements

Cleaning Connections for Accurate Measurements

Cleaning Connections for Accurate Measurements

Today, advances in measurement capabilities make connectors and connection techniques more important than ever. Damage to the con- nectors on calibration and verification devices, test ports, cables, and other devices can degrade measurement accuracy and damage instru- ments. Replacing a damaged connector can cost thousands of dollars, not to mention lost time! This expense can be avoided by observing the simple precautions presented in this book. This book also contains a brief list of tips for caring for electrical connectors.

Choosing the Right Connector

A critical but often overlooked factor in making a good lightwave mea- surement is the selection of the fiber- optic connector. The differences in connector types are mainly in the mechanical assembly that holds the ferrule in position against another identical ferrule. Connectors also vary in the polish, curve, and concentricity of the core within the cladding. Mating one style of cable to another requires an adapter. Agilent Technologies offers adapters for most instruments to allow testing with many different cables. Figure 2- 3 on page 2- 41 shows the basic components of a typical connectors.

The system tolerance for reflection and insertion loss must be known when selecting a connector from the wide variety of currently available connectors. Some items to consider when selecting a connector are:

•How much insertion loss can be allowed?

•Will the connector need to make multiple connections? Some connectors are better than others, and some are very poor for making repeated connections.

•What is the reflection tolerance? Can the system take reflection degra- dation?

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