Tag Archives: FBT splitter

Fibre Splitter for FTTH Applications

Passive optical network (PON) has been widely applied in the construction of FTTH (fibre to the home). With PON architecture, network service providers can send the signal to multiple users through a single optical fibre, which can help them save great costs. To build the PON architecture, optical fibre splitter is necessary.

What Is Fibre Splitter?

The fibre splitter is a passive component specially designed for PON networks. Fibre splitter is generally a two-way passive equipment with one or two input ports and several output ports (from 2 to 64). Fibre splitter is used to split the optical signal into several outputs by a certain ratio. If the ratio of a splitter is 1×8 , then the signal will be divided into 8 fibre optic lights by equal ratio and each beam is 1/8 of the original source. The splitter can be designed for a specific wavelength, or works with wavelengths (from 1260 nm to 1620 nm) commonly used in optical transmission. Since fibre splitter is a passive device, it can provide high reliability for FTTH network. Based on the production principle, fibre splitters include Planar Lightwave Circuit (PLC) and Fused Bionic Taper (FBT).

PLC splitters are produced by planar technology. PLC splitters use silica optical waveguide technology to distribute optical signals from central office to multiple premise locations. The output ports of PLC splitters can be at most 64. This type of splitters is mainly used for network with more users.

The Structure of PLC splitters

Internal Structure

The following figure shows a PLC splitter. The optical fibre is splitted into 32 outputs. PLC chip is made of silica glass embedded with optical waveguide. The waveguide has three branches of optical channels. When the light guided through the channels, it is equally divided into multiple lights (up to 64) and transmitted via output ports.

1x32-plc-splitter

Outside Configuration

Bare splitter is the basic component of PLC fibre splitter. For better protection of the fragile fibre and optimised use, PLC splitters are often equipped with loose tube, connector and covering box. PLC splitters are made in several different configurations, including ABS, LGX box, Mini Plug-in type, Tray type, 1U Rack mount, etc. For example, 1RU rack mount PLC splitter (as shown in the figure below) is designed for high density fibre optical distribution networks. It can provide super optical performance and fast installation. This splitter is preassembled and fibres are terminated with SC connectors. It’s ready for immediate installation.

rack-mount-plc-spllitter

FBT splitters are made by connecting the optical fibres at high temperature and pressure. When the fibre coats are melted and connected, fibre cores get close to each other. Then two or more optical fibres are bound together and put on a fused taper fibre device. Fibres are drawn out according to the output ratio from one single fibre as the input. FBT splitters are mostly used for passive networks where the split configuration is smaller.

PLC Splitters From FS.COM

Fiberstore offers a wide range of PLC splitters that can be configured with 1xN and 2xN. Our splitters are designed for different applications, configurations including LGX, ABS box with pigtail, bare, blockless, rack mount package and so on.

Port Configuration Package Style Fibre Diameter
(Input/output)
Connector (Input/output) Pigtail Length
1×2 Steel tube, bare fibre 250μm None 1.5m
1×4 Mini module 900μm SC APC/UPC 2.0m
1×8 Pigtailed ABS box 2.00mm LC APC/UPC 3.0m
1×16 Mini plugged-in 3.0mm FC APC/UPC Customised
1×32 LGX ST APC/UPC
1×64 Splice Tray Type Customised
2×16 Rack mount
Conclusion

Fibre splitter is an economical solution for PON architecture deployment in FTTH network. It can offer high performance and reliability against the harsh environment conditions. Besides, the small sized splitter is easy for installation and flexible for future network reconfiguration. Therefore, it’s a wise choice to use fibre splitter for building FTTH network.

Comparison Between FBT and PLC Splitters

Enabling a single fibre interface to be shared among many subscribers, fibre optic splitters play an increasingly significant role in many of today’s optical networks. From FTTx systems to traditional optical networks, splitters provide capabilities that help users maximise the functionality of optical network circuits. In this article, I’d like to give a short introduction of fibre optic splitters.

Overview of FBT and PLC Splitters

In simple terms, a fibre optical splitter is a passive optical device that can split, or separate beams into two or more light beams. Based on the configuration of the splitter, these beams may or may not have the equal optical power as the original beam. By means of different constructions, the outputs of a splitter can have varying degrees of throughput, which is highly beneficial when designing optical networks.

fiber optic splitter

Now although technology continually evolves, and there are a variety of existing splitters in the market, the most two common types of fibre optic splitter are: fused biconic tapered splitter (FBT Splitter) and planar lightwave circuit splitter (PLC Splitter).

FBT is the traditional technology in which two fibres are placed closely together and fused together by applying heat while the assembly is being elongated and tapered. As the technology continues developing, the quality of FBT splitter is very good and they can be applied in a cost-effective way. Now FBT is designed to split power in optical telecommunication and widely used in passive networks, especially where the split configuration is relatively small.

FBT splitter.jpg

PLC splitter is a better choice for application where large split configurations are required. It uses an optical splitter chip to divide the incoming signal into multiple outputs. PLC splitter composes of three layers: a substrate, a waveguide, and a lid. The waveguide plays a key role in the splittering process which allows for passing specific percentages of light. Therefore, PLC splitters offer very accurate splits and a low loss. What’s more, PLC splitters have several types such as bare PLC splitter, blockless PLC splitters, fanout PLC splitter, mini-plug in type PLC splitter, etc.

PLC splitter.jpg

With the growth of FTTx worldwide, in order to serve mass subscribers, the demand for large split configurations in these networks has also grown quickly. Because of the performance benefits and overall low cost, PLC splitters are now the better solutions for these types of applications.

FBT Splitter vs. PLC Splitter

In optical networks, signals need to be splitted somewhere in order to serve for different customers. Splitter technology has made great progress in the past few years by introducing PLC splitter. However, being similar in size and outer appearance, the two types of splitter still have many differences. Here is a brief comparison of them.

Materials

FBT splitter is made out of materials that are easily available, for example, steel, fibre, hot dorm and others. All of these materials are cheap, which determines the low cost of the device itself. The technology of the device manufacturing is also relatively simple, which leads to its low prices as well. Compared with FBT splitters, the technology of PLC splitter is more complicated and expensive. It uses semiconductor technology production. Hence it is more difficult to manufacture PLC splitters. And the price of the device is higher.

Operating Wavelength

FBT splitters only supports three wavelengths: 850 nm, 1310 nm and 1550 nm, which makes its inability to works on other wavelengths. While PLC splitter can support wavelength from 1260 to 1650 nm. The adjustable rang of wavelength allows PLC splitter more wide applications.

Split Ratio

The split ratio of FBT splitter is up to 1:32, while the ratio PLC splitter goes up to 64, providing a high reliability. Furthermore, the signal in PlC splitter can be split equally due to technology implemented.

Temperature

In certain areas, temperature can be a crucial factor that affects the performance of optical components. Therefore, sometimes devices with good cold resistance is also vital. FBT splitter can work stable under the temperature of -5 to 75℃. PLC splitter can work at a wider temperature range of -40 to 85 ℃, providing relatively good performance in the areas of extreme climate.

Apart from the differences mentioned above, there are still other differences between FBT splitter and PLC splitter. For example, compared with FBT splitter, the size of PLC splitter is more compact. Hence, PLC spitter is more suitable for density applications.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this article introduce the fibre optical splitters and the differences between FBT splitter and PLC splitter. It’s significant to choose the most suitable splitters for your networks. There are a variety of splitters avaible in Fiberstore. If you want to know detailed information, please visit FS.COM.