Hello
everyone!
Today,
I will continue to detail explain the troubleshooting process for dirty
optical connectors. In the last article, I showed a problem with dirty
optical connectors. Now, I will explain cleaning connectors.
There are a number of cleaning tools, but there are two main methods of cleaning: dry and wet. During the process of mechanical and fusion splicing, 99% isopropyl alcohol or some special liquid and lint-free wipes are most often used. Isopropyl alcohol (IPA) is very good and effective for cleaning optical fibers, but it is very difficult to find 99% isopropyl alcohol and another problem is that over time it collects water, and the percentage of alcohol decreases.
Figure 1. Different tools for cleaning optical connectors
One of the best methods of cleaning the connector is wet-dry. The surface of the connector is first found on the west part of the lint-free wipe, then pulled towards the dry part of the wipe. The wet part of lint-free wipe releases the dirt, and the dry part collects it. In the next figure, we can see this process.
Figure 2. Wet-dry method
To achieve efficient and fast connector cleaning, many manufacturers have begun to produce tools for cleaning optical connectors. These tools can clean the surface of the optical connector with a few clicks. Today, this is one of the best ways to clean optical connectors. And one of the most popular. There are cleaners for ferrule 1.25 mm (e.g. LC connectors) and 2.5 mm (e.g. SC, ST, FC connectors). In the next figure, we can see these tools. The blue one-click cleaner is for cleaning 1.25 mm ferrules, and the green one-click cleaner is for 2.5 mm ferrules.
Figure 3. One-click cleaners for optical connectors
Figure 4. shows us methods for cleaning optical adapters (left side) and optical connectors (right sight) in three steps.
Figure 4. Process of cleaning optical adapters and optical connectors
In the end, a detailed process of cleaning the optical connector can be seen in Figure 5.
Figure 5. Process of working one-click cleaner
I will continue to explain this troubleshooting process in the next article >> Troubleshooting process for dirty optical connectors(3)
Thank you!
