With the continuous development of modern technology, there are many various optical fiber splitters on the market. The two most common types are: fused tapered fiber splitter (FBT fiber splitter) and planar waveguide fiber splitter (PLC fiber splitter). In addition to the difference in size and appearance, there are many differences in other places.
1. Material
FBT optical fiber splitter is made of steel, optical fiber, heat shrinkable tube and other common materials. Because the cost of these materials is not high and the device manufacturing technology is relatively simple, the price of FBT fiber splitter is relatively cheap. The technology of PLC fiber splitter is more complicated and expensive. It uses semiconductor technology for production, which greatly increases the difficulty of manufacturing, so its cost is relatively high.
2. Working wavelength
The FBT fiber splitter only supports three wavelengths: 850nm, 1310nm and 1550nm, and cannot work in other wavelength environments. PLC fiber splitter can support working at 1260nm ~ 1650nm wavelength. It can be seen from this that the wavelength range supported by the PLC fiber splitter is wider.
3. Split ratio
The split ratio of FBT fiber splitter is as high as 1:32, and PLC fiber splitter can be increased to 64, which makes PLC fiber splitter can provide higher reliability. In addition, based on higher technology, PLC fiber splitter can split the signal equally.
4. Temperature
Temperature is a key factor affecting the performance of optical devices. Therefore, having good temperature stability plays a vital role in the performance of the equipment. FBT optical fiber splitter can work steadily at -5 ℃ ~ 75 ℃, while PLC optical fiber splitter can work in a wider temperature range like -40 ℃ ~ 85 ℃ performance.
In addition to the above differences, there are other differences between FBT fiber splitter and PLC fiber splitter. For example, the size of PLC fiber splitter is more compact than FBT fiber splitter. Therefore, PLC fiber splitter is more suitable for high-density applications.
