Let's start by explaining why we spend so much time with benchtop microscopes. Simply put, faulty fiber connections are the leading cause of network failure, and to correct this, high-performance fiber inspection is critical.
High performance quotes Cleanliness can describe permanent defects (eg: cracks) and loose contamination defects (eg: dust, dust, cleaner residue).
Inspection is critical for telecom and datacom applications, and some would argue that the most critical place is the production plant. Industry standards for end face cleanliness, such as IEC-61300-3-35, have led many manufacturers to demonstrate compliance with certification records.
As we quoted in our Make sure to clean fiber optic connectors article:
A 1-micron dust particle on a single-mode core can block up to 1% of the dust. Loss of light (0.05dB loss). The 9-micron spot is still too small to see without a microscope, but it completely blocks the fiber core. These contaminants are more difficult to remove than dust particles. By comparison, a typical human hair is 50 to 75 microns in diameter, eight times larger. Therefore, even though dust may not be visible, it is still in the air and may deposit on fiber optic connectors.
Optimizing workflow efficiency is one of the biggest needs of customers when choosing another device over desktop. On the production floor, time is money, so while focusing on protecting the bottom line, we've put together a list of the biggest inspection needs.
This "essentials" list includes:
(1) Autofocus. Built-in autofocus eliminates the need to manually spend more time getting the best-focused image.
(2) Automated workflow options. In addition to autofocus, automatic testing, automatic file naming, and automatic saving after testing are critical to reducing time.
(3) A single report for multiple tests. The ability to create test groups that can be displayed together in one consolidated test report can improve efficiency.
(4) Single test for inspection and power measurement. The ability to create certification reports for fiber optic connector end faces and optical losses is critical to industry standards.
Remember that contamination is the number one cause of troubleshooting in optical networks, and whenever fiber is handled, ensuring the cleanliness of fiber connections is critical.
