FC optical attenuators come in several types for a variety of applications.

:: Male to Female Doped Fiber Plug Type FC Fixed Attenuator

This type of attenuators are also called build out types. They contain doped fiber suitable for both 1310nm and 1550nm operation. Fixed attenuation values are available in 1dB increments from 1 to 20dB.

The build out FC attenuators are installed between an mating sleeve and a connector (plug). Because they are based on doped fiber, this type of attenuators have exceptional optical performance and reliability.

:: Female to Female Absorption Filter Adapter Type FC Fixed Attenuator

This type of attenuators are also called bulkhead type. They incorporate absorption filters in the centers of the adapter housings. In use, the filters are interposed between the end-faces of mating plugs.

Bulkhead attenuators utilize a wavelength sensitive neutral density filter to achieve attenuation. They can be inserted easily between jumpers or permanently mounted in a fiber distribution cabinet. This type of FC attenuators can be used for either multimode or single mode applications.

They use a filter to induce attenuation and are wavelength dependent, so you need to choose between 1310nm or 1550nm versions.

:: Applications

FC attenuators are widely used in telecom and data networks, power equalization in DWDM networks, CATV and multimedia applications, testing instruments, Fiber to the Home, and more.

Colin Yao is the sales manager at Fiber Optics For Sale Co. and an expert on optic cabling technologies and products.

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Patent number 8737778 is assigned to JDS Uniphase Corporation (Milpitas, CA).

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Variable Optical Attenuators (VOAs) are common components used in optical communication networks. One common VOA technology is based on an Electro-Static (ES) Micro-Electro-Mechanical (MEMS) chip. The ES-VOA component has an input optical fiber, a lens, a MEMS tilting minor and an output optical fiber. The lens focuses the input light onto the MEMS tilting mirror, and the reflected light is directed towards the output fiber. A voltage is applied to the MEMS chip, the voltage amplitude controls the mirror tilt angle. By varying the voltage and minor tilt angle, the position of the reflected spot on the output fiber is varied. With the output spot aligned to the center of output fiber core, the attenuation is minimum and limited only by the insertion loss (typically .about.0.5 dB). As the output spot of the beam of reflected light is misaligned relative to the output fiber core, the amount of light launched into the output fiber core is reduced (attenuated), and correspondingly more light is launched into the fiber cladding, and a higher level of attenuation is achieved. The maximum attenuation can be 30 dB and higher, mainly limited by the tilt range of the mirror.

“There exist multiple other VOA technologies, each have advantages and disadvantages. Examples include motor-controlled vane attenuator, thermal MEMS-controlled attenuator, Mach-Zehnder attenuators, Electro-Absorption attenuators, liquid-crystal attenuators. The main advantages of the ES-VOA is rapid switching time (<2 ms), compact size (5.56 mm diameter package), low cost, low power dissipation, and high dynamic range (>30 dB). These advantages have made the ES-VOA the most common VOA solution in optical fiber networks applications..
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