Fiber optic patch cable is also known as fiber optic jumper or fiber optic patch cord. There are many different kinds of fiber patch cords in the market such as LC to SC patch cable, SC to LC fiber patch cable, FC to SC fiber patch cable and some others either in single-mode or multimode applications. How do these categories come? Because fiber optic patch cord is composed of a fiber optic cable terminated with different connectors on the ends. The two factors are the classification criteria. The following will talk about the connector. An optical fiber connector is used to join optical fibers and enables quicker connection and disconnection than splicing. Fiber connector is composed by three major things: the ferrule, the connector body and the coupling mechanism. Ferrule It’s a thin structure (often cylindrical) that actually holds the glass fiber. It has a hollowed-out center that forms a tight grip on the fiber. Ferrules are often made from ceramic, metal, or high-quality plastic, and typically will hold one strand of fiber. Connector Body It’s a plastic or metal structure that holds the ferrule and attaches to the jacket and strengthens members of the fiber cable itself. Coupling Mechanism This is a part of the connector body that holds the connector in place when it gets attached to another device (a switch, NIC, bulkhead coupler, etc.). It may be a latch clip, a bayonet-style nut, or similar device. Good optical fiber connectors should contain these features below: Low insertion loss High return loss Ease of installation Low cost Reliability Low environmental sensitivity Ease of use Optical fiber connectors are unique. Fiber cables transmit pulses of light instead of electrical signals, so optical fiber connectors should align microscopic glass fibers perfectly to allow for the signal transmission. Besides, most connectors are spring-loaded. It makes the fiber faces pressed together when the connectors are mated. The resulting glass-to-glass or plastic-to-plastic contact eliminates signal losses that would be caused by an air gap between the joined fibers. A variety of optical fiber connectors are available including ST, SC, LC, FC, FC/APC, LC/APC, SC/APC, MT-RJ, E-2000-UPC, E-2000-APC and SMA style, but SC and LC connectors are the most common types of connectors in the market. The main differences among types of connectors are dimensions and methods of mechanical coupling. Different connectors are available for multimode, and for single-mode fibers, such as multimode SC patch cable fiber, single-mode FC patch cable fiber. They are applied in telecommunication, computer networks, CATV networks, active device termination, instrumentation, etc.
