Differences Between FBT Splitter and PLC Splitter

In future fiber networks, splitters provide capabilities that help users maximize the functionality of optical network circuits.according to different manufacture technologies, fiber optic splitters can be divided into PLC splitter and FBT splitter.

What is Fiber Optic Splitter?

Fiber Optic splitter is suitable for a fiber optic signal to be decomposed into mufti-channel optical signal output.

Fiber splitters are comprised of three fibers – two fiber legs on one side that overlap inside a junction with a third fiber at the common end. The fiber type used in each leg is typically the same, but can also be custom configured to have different fiber core diameters or wavelength ranges. fiber splitters are good for mixing light from two different locations and delivering it through a single fiber to a spectrometer or sample. This ability can be used to combine illumination from two different light sources, or to mix light collected from two different sampling points before delivery to a spectrometer.

Optical Splitter is used to split the fiber optic light into several parts at a certain ratio. It is an important component used in Passive Optical Network (PON), therefore also called PON Splitter. There are mainly two kinds of PON splitters: one is the traditional fused type splitter known as FBT Coupler or FBT WDM splitter, which features competitive price; the other is the PLC Splitter based on the PLC (Planar Lightwave Circuit) technology, which has a compact size and suits for density applications. fiber optic splitter, also known as a beam splitter, is based on a quartz substrate of an integrated waveguide optical power distribution device, similar to a coaxial cable transmission system. The optical network system also needs to be an optical signal coupled to the branch distribution. In which requires the fiber optic splitter is one of the most important passive devices in the optical fiber link, is optical fiber tandem device with many input terminals and many output terminals, especially applicable to a passive optical network (EPON, GPON, BPON, FTTX, FTTH etc.) to connect the MDF and the terminal equipment and to achieve the branching of the optical signal.

FBT Splitters

FBT splitter is made out of materials that are easily available, for example steel, fiber, hot dorm and others. All of these materials are low-price, which determines the low cost of the device itself. Fused Biconical Taper (FBT) is used for splitting or combining optical signals and is tied to two or more fibers, and then melted in a cone machine, pull tensile and real-time monitoring of changes in splitting ratio, melt tensile splitting ratio to meet the requirements end, wherein one end of a fiber optic reserved ( The remaining cut off) as the input terminal and the other end a multitude of road outputs. Mature tapering process can only pull 1 × 4. 1 × 4 or more devices, with a plurality of 1 × 2 connected together. Then the whole package in the splitter box. The splitting or coupling ratio is controlled and can be modified upopn costumer request as well as the amount of splitting ports. The FBT coupler supports dicrete wavelength window.

PLC Splitters

PLC splitter manufacturing technology is more complex. It uses semiconductor technology (lithography, etching, developer technology) production, hence it is more difficult to manufacture. PLC refers to planar lightwave circuit. As a micro-optical device, PLC splitter uses an optical chip to split the input signal into various outputs. At the edge of the chip, there is a light circuit in ribbon form mounted on a carrier and fibers. PLC splitter typically adopts silica glass as the material of lightwave circuit and accepts different types of polished finishes. The substrate, waveguide and lid are three basic layers of the PLC splitter. For different applications, PLC splitters can be further categorized into different types including bare PLC splitters, blockless PLC splitters, ABS PLC splitters, LGX box PLC splitters, mini plug-in type PLC splitters, tray type PLC splitters and 1U rack mount PLC splitters.