Fiber-optic attenuator applications

Attenuators are commonly used in fiber optic communications, either to test power level margins by temporarily adding a calibrated amount of signal loss, or installed permanently to properly match transmitter and receiver levels.

Sharp bends stress optic fibers and can cause losses. If a received signal is too strong a temporary fix is to wrap the cable around a pencil until the desired level of attenuation is achieved. However, such arrangements are unreliable, since the stressed fiber tends to break over time.

July 14, 2011

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