14
User ManUal
Is It Clean?
IS IT CLEAN
1.
Count/measure the particles/contamination that are on the fiber surface.
2.
Estimate or use a grading overlay to grade the fiber by determining the number and size of each particle
that are present in each of the 4 fiber zones.
Dirt is everywhere,
and a typical dust particle (2–15 μm in diameter) can significantly
affect signal performance and cause permanent damage to the fiber end face. Most
Zones
are a series of concentric circles that identify areas of interest on the connector end face. The inner-most
zones are more sensitive to contamination than the outer zones.
Acceptance criteria
are a series of failure thresholds that define contamination limits for each zone.
A.
Core
Zone
B.
Cladding
Zone
C.
Adhesive / Epoxy
Zone*
D.
Contact / Ferrule
Zone
field test failures can be attributed to dirty connectors, and most connectors are not inspected until the problem is
detected,
after
permanent damage has already occurred.
*
Note:
In most cases, there are
no limits
to the number/size of
contamination present on
Zone C
(Adhesive/Epoxy).
If acceptable,
do not touch it and
CONNECT
.
If not acceptable,
CLEAN
.
Zone Overlays
A
B
C
D
Multimode Fiber
single-mode Fiber
ZONES AND ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA
gRADINg PROCESS
