426 8163A/B, 8164A/B, 8166A/B User’s Guide
15 Cleaning Instructions
Why is it important to clean optical devices ?
In transmission links optical fiber cores are about 9 μm (0.00035") in
diameter. Dust and other particles, however, can range from tenths to
hundredths of microns in diameter. Their comparative size means that they
can cover a part of the end of a fiber core, and as a result will reduce the
performance of your system.
Furthermore, the power density may burn dust into the fiber and cause
additional damage (for example, 0 dBm optical power in a single mode
fiber causes a power density of approximately 16 million W/m
2
). If this
happens, measurements become inaccurate and non-repeatable.
Cleaning is, therefore, an essential yet difficult task. Unfortunately, when
comparing most published cleaning recommendations, you will discover
that they contain several inconsistencies. In this section, we want to
suggest ways to help you clean your various optical devices, and thus
significantly improve the accuracy and repeatability of your lightwave
measurements.
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