Agilent Technologies Agilent 86120C manual Cleaning Connectors, Visual inspection of fiber ends

WA R N I N G

Making Measurements

Cleaning Connections for Accurate Measurements

Visual inspection of fiber ends

Visual inspection of fiber ends can be helpful. Contamination or imperfections on the cable end face can be detected as well as cracks or chips in the fiber itself. Use a microscope (100X to 200X magnifica- tion) to inspect the entire end face for contamination, raised metal, or dents in the metal as well as any other imperfections. Inspect the fiber for cracks and chips. Visible imperfections not touching the fiber core may not affect performance (unless the imperfections keep the fibers from contacting).

Always remove both ends of fiber-optic cables from any instrument, system, or device before visually inspecting the fiber ends. Disable all optical sources before disconnecting fiber-optic cables. Failure to do so may result in permanent injury to your eyes.

Cleaning Connectors

The procedures in this section provide the proper steps for cleaning fiber- optic cables and Agilent Technologies universal adapters. The ini- tial cleaning, using the alcohol as a solvent, gently removes any grit and oil. If a caked- on layer of material is still present, (this can hap- pen if the beryllium- copper sides of the ferrule retainer get scraped and deposited on the end of the fiber during insertion of the cable), a second cleaning should be performed. It is not uncommon for a cable or connector to require more than one cleaning.

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