Chapter 3: Fiber Optic Cable Link Testing

Link Testing

After the cables are installed and terminated, it's time for testing. For every
fiber optic cable plant, you will need to test for continuity, end-to-end loss
and then troubleshoot the problems. If it's a long outside plant cable with
intermediate splices, you will probably want to verify the individual splices
with an OTDR also, since that's the only way to make sure that each one is
good.
If you are the network user, you will also be interested in testing power, as
power is the measurement that tells you whether the system is operating
properly.

Fiber Optic Data Links

Fiber optic transmission systems all work similar to that shown at the right.
They consist of a transmitter which takes an electrical input and converts it to
an optical output from a laser diode
or LED.
The light from the transmitter is
coupled into the fiber with a
connector and is transmitted through
the fiber optic cable plant.
copper wire or radio transmission,
the performance of the fiber optic
data link can be determined by how
well the reconverted electrical signal
out of the receiver matches the input
to the transmitter.

Since it's easier and cheaper to run full duplex over two fibers transmitting in
opposite directions, links usually consist of two transceivers connected by
two fibers as shown below. Some links, like FTTH PON links do use
bidirectional transmission over one fiber because they may have three
signals at different wavelengths to save having to install multiple fibers.

The ability of any fiber optic system to transmit data ultimately depends on
the optical power at the receiver as shown below ,which shows the data link
bit error rate (called "bit error rate" or BER) as a function of optical power at

the receiver. Either too little or too much power will cause high bit error rates.
Too much power, and the receiver amplifier saturates, too little and signal-tonoise (S/N) becomes a problem. This receiver power depends on two basic
factors: how much power is launched into the fiber by the transmitter and
how much is lost by attenuation in the optical fiber cable that connects the
transmitter and receiver. The link loss budget is the difference between the
transmitter output and the receiver input and is an important calculation
made during the design phase of any system. When testing, since typically
both transmitters and receivers have receptacles for fiber optic
connectors, measuring the power of a transmitter is done by attaching a test
cable to the source and measuring the power at the other end. For receivers,
one disconnects the cable attached to the receiver receptacle and measures
the output with the meter

Data links can be either analog or digital in nature. Both have some common
critical parameters and some major differences. For both, the optical loss
margin is most important. This is determined by connecting the link up with
an adjustable attenuator in the cable plant and varying the loss until one can
generate the curve shown below. Analog data links will be tested for signal to
noise ratio to determine link margin, while digital links use bit error rate as a
measure of performance. Both links require testing over the full bandwidth
specified for operation, but most data
links are now specified for a specific
network application, like AM CATV or
RGB color monitors for analog links and
SONET, Ethernet or Fiber Channel for
digital links.

The optical power margin of the link is

determined by two factors, the
sensitivity of the receiver, which is
determined in the bit error rate curve
above and the output power of the
transmitter into the fiber.
The minimum power level that produces an acceptable bit error rate
determines the sensitivity the receiver.
The power from the transmitter coupled into the optical fiber determines the
transmitted power.
The difference between these two power levels determines the loss margin
of the link. If the link is designed to operate at differing bit rates, it is
necessary to generate the performance curve for each bit-rate.
Since the total power in the signal is a function of pulse width and pulse
width will vary with bit-rate (higher bit-rates means shorter pulses), the
receiver sensitivity will degrade at higher bit-rates.

Typical Fiber optic link/system performance parameters

Link type

Source/Fi
ber Type

Telecom

laser/SM

Datacom

CATV(AM)

LED/MM

laser/SM

Wave-

Transmit
Power (dBm)

Receiver
Sen- sitivity
(dBm)

Margin
(dB)

1300

+3 to -6

-30 to -45

~40-40

1550

+3 to -10
(to +20 with
optical
amplification)

-30 to -45

~30 to 40

850

-10 to -20
( 0 with VCSEL)

-10 to -35

~5 to 25

1300

-10 to -20
( 0 with laser)

-30 to -35

~5 to 25

1300

+10 to 0

0 to -10

10 to 20

length
(nm)

Testing Loss

There are two methods that are used to measure loss, which we call "single-ended loss" and "double-ended
loss". Single-ended loss uses only the launch cable, while double-ended loss uses a receive cable attached
to the meter also.

Single-ended loss is measured by mating the cable you want to

test to the reference launch cable and measuring the power out
the far end with the meter. When you do this you measure 1. the
loss of the connector mated to the launch cable and 2. the loss of
any fiber, splices or other connectors in the cable you are testing.
This method is described in FOTP-171 and is shown in the
drawing. Reverse the cable to test the connector on the other
end.

In a double-ended loss test, you attach the cable to test between

two reference cables, one attached to the source and one to the
meter. This way, you measure two connectors' loses, one on each
end, plus the loss of all the cable or cables in between. This is the
method specified in OFSTP-14, the test for loss in an installed cable plant.

What Loss Should You Get When Testing Cables?

While it is difficult to generalize, here are some guidelines:
- For each connector, figure 0.5 dB loss (0.7 max)
- For each splice, figure 0.2 dB
- For multimode fiber, the loss is about 3 dB per km for 850 nm sources, 1 dB per km for 1300 nm. This roughly
translates into a loss of 0.1 dB per 100 feet for 850 nm, 0.1 dB per 300 feet for 1300 nm.
- For singlemode fiber, the loss is about 0.5 dB per km for 1300 nm sources, 0.4 dB per km for 1550 nm.

This roughly translates into a loss of 0.1 dB per 600 feet for 1300 nm, 0.1 dB per 750 feet for 1300 nm. So for the loss
of a cable plant, calculate the approximate loss as:
(0.5 dB X # connectors) + (0.2 dB x # splices) + fiber loss on the total length of cable

3.2 Pin Point High Loss Location

Dirty Connector

There are some very simple faults within an optical network that can cause
high RL. A dirty connector is one such source. Even a tiny dust particle on a 5
micron single-mode core can end up blocking the optical signal, resulting in
signal loss.

Broken Optical Fiber

A break in the optical fiber can also cause high RL. In some instances, it is
possible for the optical fiber to have a break in it, but still be able to guide
light through. In this case, a measurement of insertion loss (IL) across this
fiber will result in a low IL. This disguises the extent of the problem where a
direct RL measurement would immediately highlight it. In addition, a crack in
a fiber can have both low IL and low RL and easily be missed as a problem in
the system. However, a sensitive RL measurement will show a reflection
peak where there should be none, indicating a crack in the fiber that will
likely lead to failure.

Poorly Mated Connector

If a connector is not fully seated, the resulting air gap between connector end
faces would result in high RL from that point. In this case, the IL may be low
and the signal fidelity could still be good. However, this would be a source of
concern as this loose connection is now a possible source of failure, as it
could become misaligned or completely disconnected while in service.

Creates Multipath Interference and Degrades Signal

Multiple high reflection points within a network can lead to the optical effect
known as multipath interference. This interference can easily lead to signal
degradation, especially in high speed networks. In addition, many fiber optic
transmission systems use lasers to transmit signals over optical fiber. High RL
can cause undesirable feedback into the laser cavity which can also lead to
signal degradation

3.3 Troubleshoot Cross Link Mistake

Testing a fiber optic network is straightforward using a fiber optic power

meter and some good patchcords. However, fiber optic networks should only
be tested when initially setting up the system or troubleshooting network
transmission problems. Otherwise, lock up the connections and leave them
alone! Fiber optic networks are much more reliable than other transmission
methods and do not need periodic maintenance

Fiber optic testers include tools to perform basic inspection and cleaning,
basic troubleshooting and verification testers, certification testers, and
advanced OTDR testers for troubleshooting and analysis of existing cabling.

For simple fiber troubleshooting and verification, the SimpliFiber Pro and
source solutions work together to measure multimode and singlemode fiber
loss. Built-in results storage and automatic wavelength synchronization save
time and prevent errors.

Certification of new cabling per IEEE, TIA/EIA, or ISO/IEC standards is

necessary to ensure that the link will run the intended application. Complete
fiber cabling certification includes two parts; Tier 1 or Basic Test Regimen and
Tier 2 or Extended Test Regimen. Tier one cabling certification is performed
with a power meter and light source or optical loss test set like the CertiFiber
Pro to measure the absolute loss of the link and compare it to the limits in the
standard. Tier two certification and troubleshooting can be performed with an

OTDR such as the OptiFiber Pro OTDR.

Certification of fiber optic links requires the right test tools, detailed
knowledge of installation and application standards, and the ability to
document your test results. The DTX-CLT CertiFiber is one handheld tester
that quickly and easily certifies multimode networks. One button measures
fiber length and optical loss on two fibers at two wavelengths, computes the
optical loss budget, compares the results to the selected industry standard
and provides an instant PASS or FAIL indication. Test results can easily be
saved and managed using included LinkWare Software.

Tier two fiber certification requires the use of an OTDR to ensure the
quality of individual components of the installed link. Learn more about
OTDRs and tier-two fiber certification here.

Fluke Networks is the market leader in enterprise fiber optic testing, with a
wide range of field-tough fiber testers to inspect, clean, verify, certify,
troubleshoot fiber optic networks.