The Optical Splitter is one of the most important components connecting the optical line terminal (OLT) and the optical network unit (ONU). Fiber optic splitters enable a signal on an optical fiber to be distributed among two or more fibers. The performance of optical Splitter is directly related to the stability of the entire network link.
The working principle of the optical splitter is: When the light signal is transmitted in a single-mode fiber, the light energy cannot entirely concentrate on the fiber core. A small amount of energy will be spread through the cladding of the fiber. If two fibers are close enough to each other, the transmitting light in an optical fiber can enter into another optical fiber. Therefore, the reallocation technique of optical signal can be achieved in multiple fibers.
From the principle of splitting and the manufacturing process, there are two commonly used types of optical splitters: Fused Biconical Taper(FBT) and Planar Lightwave Circuit (PLC). How to choose between them? What is the difference between in applications?
Fused Biconical Taper (FBT) Splitter
The technology of FBT is that two fibers are placed closely together and fused by applying heat while the assembly is being elongated and tapered. The changes of the splitting ratio will be in real-time monitoring. The taper process will end once the splitting ratio meets the requirements. Keep one fiber (the rest is cut off) as the input port and the other end as the multi-output port.
The technology of FBT is that two fibers are placed closely together and fused by applying heat while the assembly is being elongated and tapered. The changes of the splitting ratio will be in real-time monitoring. The taper process will end once the splitting ratio meets the requirements. Keep one fiber (the rest is cut off) as the input port and the other end as the multi-output port.
Planar Lightwave Circuit (PLC) Splitter
PLC splitter is based on planar lightwave circuit technology of quartz glass waveguide. The splitter is composed of an optical splitter chip and an optical fiber array at both ends. The chip is the core component, which has one input and N output. The quality of the chip and the splitter channel directly affect the price of the whole splitter. The optical fiber array is located on the upper surface of the chip and is sealed to form an optical splitter with one input and N output fibers.
PLC splitter is based on planar lightwave circuit technology of quartz glass waveguide. The splitter is composed of an optical splitter chip and an optical fiber array at both ends. The chip is the core component, which has one input and N output. The quality of the chip and the splitter channel directly affect the price of the whole splitter. The optical fiber array is located on the upper surface of the chip and is sealed to form an optical splitter with one input and N output fibers.
How to choose these two devices?
At present, the mature tapering process can only pull 1×4. 1×4 or more devices, with a plurality of 1×2 connected together. For example, 1×8 can be composed of 7 1×2 devices, the whole package in the splitter box. A PLC splitter is available with the splitting ratio of 1:64. The more splitting channels, the more obvious cost advantage. Thus, FBT splitter is more restricted to the number of splits in one coupling. FBT splitters are widely accepted and used in optical networks with few splitting channels requirement. When larger split configurations such as 1×16,1×32,1×48, PLC splitter has more advantages.
At present, the mature tapering process can only pull 1×4. 1×4 or more devices, with a plurality of 1×2 connected together. For example, 1×8 can be composed of 7 1×2 devices, the whole package in the splitter box. A PLC splitter is available with the splitting ratio of 1:64. The more splitting channels, the more obvious cost advantage. Thus, FBT splitter is more restricted to the number of splits in one coupling. FBT splitters are widely accepted and used in optical networks with few splitting channels requirement. When larger split configurations such as 1×16,1×32,1×48, PLC splitter has more advantages.
What’s more, the material of FBT splitter that is easily available, such as steel, fiber, hot dorm. All of these materials are low-price, making the device itself inexpensive. And the technology of PLC fiber splitter is more complicated and expensive. The device manufacturing process is complex and the technical threshold is high. It uses semiconductor technology for production, greatly increasing the manufacturing difficulty, so its cost is higher.
Since the multichannel FBT splitter is packaged by a plurality of 1×2 connections, which will lead to the large package size and poor uniformity of light splitting. It is impossible for each 1×2 device to be completely evenly divided. While for 1×N splitter, this non-uniformity will be amplified, that will cause a poor uniformity. If good uniformity is required, it needs to be accurately calculated and paired. But it is difficult.
The difference in the distribution of the split ratio is also one of the main differences between them. The splitting ratio of FBT splitter can be real-time monitoring, you can create unequal splitter. It is customizable, and the special types are 1:3, 1:7, 1:11, etc. For PLC splitter, the splitting is uniform, and the signal can be evenly distributed to the user. For example, a 1 x 32 PLC splitter can divide the optical signal equally into 32 shares and then transmit to 32 users. Sometimes, due to the inconsistency of the number of users and the distance, the optical power of different lines needs to be allocated. In this case, devices with different split ratios are needed, and the FBT splitter is used.
Both devices have their own advantages in terms of price and performance. The key to choosing is the occasion and the needs of users in terms of.
HYC Co., Ltd（HYC）is a national Hi-tech optoelectronics company engaged in R&D, manufacture, and marketing of fiber optical products. Providing professional product and service for fiber connectivity, WDM, PLC splitter, and high-density datacom cabling. HYC products and solutions widely applied in 4G/5G, Data Center and Cloud Computing industry, etc.
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