The optical fiber cleaning actually refers to the cleaning of the end face of the optical fiber connector. Whether it was forty years ago or today, the cleaning of the end face of an optical fiber connector is an essential step in optical fiber maintenance.
Manufacturers usually use fiber end-face testers to perform end-face inspections to confirm whether there are contaminants, scratches, or cracks on the end face of the optical fiber connector. For fiber optic engineers, fiber cleaning tools (such as fiber cleaning pens, cassette cleaning boxes, etc.) are usually used to clean the fiber end face during wiring to ensure no pollution.
Why end-face testing?
Because having a good fiber connector end face is the basic condition to ensure high-quality fiber connections. If the end face of the optical fiber connector has contaminants (such as dust, etc.), scratches or even deformed, it will increase the return loss, and may even permanently damage the optical fiber connector, rendering it unusable. In addition, the dust between the end faces will scratch the surface, causing the air gap or the core to be misaligned, thereby reducing the transmission quality of the optical signal.
Since these contaminants cannot be identified with the naked eye, if the end face is not tested and cleaned, it will contaminate the socket connected to it. Therefore, even if the supplier has tested and cleaned the end face of the optical fiber connector before shipment, the end face of the optical fiber connector needs to be cleaned every time before and after plugging or unplugging the optical fiber connector. At the same time, if you will not use it again temporarily, you need to cover the end surface with a dust cap.
