Agilent Technologies N3970A Cleaning Information, Why is it important to clean optical devices ?

■CLEANING INFORMATION

dampened with water, to clean the external case parts. Do not attempt to clean internally.

Do not install parts or perform any unauthorised modification to optical devices.

* Refer servicing only to qualified and authorised personnel.

Why is it important to clean optical devices ?

In transmission links optical fiber cores are about 9 µm (0.00035") in diameter. Dust and other particles, however, can range from tenths to hundredths of microns in diameter. Their comparative size means that they can cover a part of the end of a fiber core, and as a result will reduce the performance of your system.

Furthermore, the power density may burn dust into the fiber and cause additional damage (for example, 0 dBm optical power in a single mode fiber causes a power density of approximately 16 million W/m2). If this happens, measurements become

inaccurate and non-repeatable. Cleaning is, therefore, an essential yet difficult task. Unfortunately, when comparing most published cleaning recommendations, you will discover that they contain several inconsistencies. In this section, we want to suggest ways to help you clean your various optical devices, and thus significantly improve the accuracy and repeatability of your lightwave measurements.

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