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Cleaning BEFORE cleaving is important, but not AFTER cleaving. There is nothing cleaner than the end-face of a newly-cleaved fiber.Fiber never should be cleaned after cleaving. If you do, the fiber end-face will be contaminated. This will cause extra work for the fusion splicer in the pre-burn phase, shorten the lifespan of the units electrodes,…

Static is an insidious actor when it comes to fiber optics. It comes from friction. Anytime two different materials are rubbed together there is a transfer of surface electrons that creates a static charge. The technical term for this event is “triboelectric charging.” This static charge turns the fiber optic end-face into a microscopic magnet, attracting…

It’s simple: fiber ferrules and connectors are NOT conductive, so there’s no place for any electrical charge to go. Let’s get back to the basics:Dielectric materials like ceramic ferrules and composite MT ferrules are insulators, not conductors. Since they are not conductive, there is no place for any static to go. When static is created,…

We apologize in advance for this long answer, but this is a key mis-understanding that deserves serious consideration.In the world of fiber optics, there only are two truly critical cleaning operations. The first is “prepping” before fusion splicing. The other is “end-face cleaning.” Both are essential to deployment of reliable, high-capacity networks. But as new…

Some companies buy the purest IPA they can get, which is called “reagent grade” IPA. They use this to try to solve the fiber cleaning problem.But I believe that the purchase of 99.9% “reagent grade IPA” is a waste of money and effort. Here’s the ‘little secret’ about reagent-grade IPA: since it is the most…

Absolutely. A signal loss budget or “optical power budget” can be a victim of either poor cleaning tools or poor technique. A few minutes with your OTDR will demonstrate that clean connectors improve (reduce) signal losses, particularly in respect to insertion loss and back reflection. WDM networks also enjoy reduced chromatic aberration. All this enables the…