The impact of optical fibre cable deployment is now being recognised all over the globe post its massive success. However, no technology is free of its challenges. The optical fiber’s success has led to significant demand for connectivity solutions, but its deployment has one considerable issue. It eventually leads to signal loss when it’s made to bend beyond a particular bend radius. The G657A2 fiber, a bend-insensitive fibre, is the cure to the optical fiber bending dilemma.
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G657A2 Fiber
The birth of G657A2 fibre took place when efforts were made for the invention of bend-insensitive fiber to overcome the issues of signal loss and for being resistant to bending problems.
G657A2 are the type of fibers that are put to use where high bending resistance is needed for smaller cable pits. The cable and hardware miniaturization is also one of the solutions it caters to. Its primary application or benefit is that they are bend-insensitive single-mode fibre cables. Its ideal market needs are Fiber To The Home (FTTH) requirements, especially in areas where cables have high fibre counts and a lower diameter micro cable.
STL’s ITU-T G.657.A2 Fiber Sterlite ® MICRO BOW-LITETM (E) Single-Mode Optical Fiber Specifications
The table below is a quick guide to the G.657.A2 fiber optic specifications.
| Attenuation | ≤ 0.35 dB/km at 1310 nm ≤ 0.35 dB/km at 1383 nm # ≤ 0.21 dB/km at 1550 nm ≤ 0.23 dB/km at 1625 nm |
| Mode field diameter | 8.6 ± 0.4 μm at 1310nm |
| Cable cutoff wavelength | ≤ 1260 nm |
| Zero dispersion wavelength | 1300 nm to 1324nm |
| Zero dispersion slope | ≤ 0.092 ps/nm2.km |
| Dispersion at 1550 nm | ≤ 18.0 ps/nm.km |
| PMD Individual Fiber* | ≤ 0.1 ps/√km |
| PMD LDV | ≤ 0.06 ps/√km |
| Cladding diameter | 124.8 ± 0.5 μm |
| Core-clad concentricity error | ≤ 0.5 μm |
| Cladding non-circularity | ≤ 0.7 % |
| Coating diameter | 190 ± 10 μm (uncoloured) , 200 ± 10 (coloured) |
| Coating-cladding concentricity error | ≤ 10 μm |
Download the complete product datasheet here.
Benefits of G657A2 Fiber
Bend insensitive fibre is the panacea to avoid signal loss and minimise attenuation. Now, you will read what all G657A2 brings to the table:
- High-quality fiber optic cable installation in tight spaces & buildings without compromises.
- It’s cost- and time-effective as it’s engineer-friendly and its usage leads to less re-work.
- The single-mode fiber is of immense help in apartment buildings where pedestals, smaller cabinets, terminations, and enclosers are needed as the space is premium.
- The ITU-T G.657.A2 fibres are fully compatible with ITU-T G.652.D fibres, leading to negligible system impairment issues.
Other Related Products
STL, as a frontrunner in fiber optic cable solutions has pledged for the smart development of bend insensitive fibre services. We have both single-mode fibre and NZDSF (non-zero dispersion-shifted single-mode fiber) available in the ranges of 250um and 200um. In addition, Stellar™, which is a creation of STL, is the world’s first macro-bend insensitive fiber (G.657.A2). All such solutions designed at STL are focused on delivering the requirements of FTTx and 5G technologies.
FAQs
What is bend-insensitive fiber?
The concept or the creation of bend-insensitive fibres came to life when the issues of optical cables being sensitive to bending were discovered. Once the fibres were bent beyond a radius, two major issues arose. Firstly, the light in the outer core does not guide back in, and secondly, there is ample signal loss. It has two major types: Multi-Mode Fiber (MMF) and Single-Mode Fiber (SMF.) A few advantages of using the bending fibre would be fewer errors during the installation process, optimized performance, durability, high compatibility with typical optical fibres.
Does bend-insensitive fiber reduce Macro-bending losses?
A short answer is a big ‘Yes.’ The invention of bend-insensitive fibre was done with the clear objective of reducing the issue of macro-bending losses. The optical fiber deployment in small buildings or spaces without this very invention would have been close to impossible.
What is fiber bending?
Optical fibre has a limit to which it can be bent while its being deployed. However, beyond a certain radius, it generates bending losses as it cannot afford to take the stress. Such a phenomenon is referred to as fiber bending loss. The major complications that can arise due to fibre bending are optical power loss and the ability of light to travel back inside the core.
What is a Macro-bending loss?
When it comes to optical fibre, there are two types of bending losses; micro and macro-bending. The latter can be described as a type of bending that is clearly visible to the naked eye. It reaches up to a point where the critical angles get exceeded.
