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How Many Fiber Connector Types do You Know?

May 14,2022

According to the different structure types offiber optic connectors,fiber optic connectorscan be divided into different types. According to different transmission media, they can be divided into single-mode fiber optic connectors and multi-mode fiber optic connectors; according to different structures, they can be divided into FC, SC, ST, D4, DIN, Biconic, MU, LC, MT and other types; according to the pin end face of the connector, they can be divided into PC (UPC) and APC; according to the number of fiber cores, there are single-core and multi-core points.
In the actual application we generally distinguish according to the basic structures ofoptical fiber connectors. The following is a brief introduction to some of the most common types of fiber optic connectors available today.


1. FC fiber optic connector

This connector was first developed by NTT in Japan. FC is the abbreviation of Ferrule Connector, indicating that its external reinforcement is by metal sleeve, and the fastening method is screw fastening. In the very beginning, the use of docking end face of ceramic pins of FC type connector is the plane contact method (FC). Such connectors are simple in structure, easy to operate, and easy to manufacture, but the fiber ends are more sensitive to dust, and are prone to Fresnel reflections, making it difficult to improve the return loss performance. Later, this type of connector has been improved, adopting the contact pin (PC) with spherical end face, while the external structure has not changed, so that the performance of insertion loss and return loss has been greatly improved.

2. SC type fiber optic connector

This is a fiber optic connector also developed by Japan’s NTT company. Its shell is rectangular, and the structure and dimensions of the pins and coupling sleeves used are exactly the same as those of the FC type. The end face of the pins is mostly ground in PC or APC type. The fastening method use the plug and pin latch type without rotation. This kind of connecters are cheap, easy to plug and unplug, with small fluctuation in insertion loss, high compressive strength, and high installation density (the most used on router switches).

3. ST-type fiber optic connector

The ST-type optical fiber jumper is commonly used in optical fiber distribution frame, the outer shell is round, and the fastening method is turnbuckle. (For 10base-F connection, the connector is usually ST type, often used in fiber optic distribution frames)

4. LC type fiber optic connector

The LC type connector is researched and developed by the famous Bell Research Institute, and is made of a modular jack (RJ) latch mechanism that is easy to operate. The size of the pins and sleeves used is half the size of ordinary SC, FC, etc., which is 1.25mm. This can increase the density of fiber optic connectors in the optical distribution frame. At present, in terms of single-mode SFF, LC-type connectors have actually occupied a dominant position, and the application in multi-mode is also growing rapidly.