At this year’s OFC 2015 exhibition, Photon Kinetics, a provider of measurement equipment for optical fibre and cable manufacturers, introduced the 2300 Fiber Analysis System, which it says is the first optical fibre test instrument able to perform both cut-off wavelength (spectral loss) and fibre geometry measurements.
Historically, these critical singlemode fibre measurements have been performed on two separate test systems, each requiring a short sample of fibre to be removed from the spool, cleaved, loaded and aligned. The set-up process at each system, together with transport of the fibre spool between them, typically requires more time than the measurement itself.
With the ability to perform both cut-off and geometry measurements on the same fibre sample, the 2300 eliminates redundant fibre handling and preparation, allowing manufacturers to cut their overall measurement time and expense by 50 per cent or more. The 2300 is also able to perform both measurements in significantly less time that its predecessors, the Photon Kinetics 2200 and 2400, delivering ever greater reductions in measurement time and cost.
“The 2300 represents the biggest technological leap forward that our company has ever made”, said Casey Shaar, vice president, advanced technology, and CTO of Photon Kinetics. “With its release, we have an entirely new instrument platform that will not just enable our customers to reduce measurement time and expense, but will also allow them use and deploy our products in ways that were not possible before.”
The 2300 Fiber Analysis System is not only available in its combined cut-off (spectral loss)/geometry configuration (2300AG), but can also be purchased in specialised spectral loss (2300A) or fibre geometry (2300G) configurations. New mode-field diameter, coating geometry and fibre curl options provide more comprehensive measurement capability and are compatible with all three 2300 system configurations.