SC101 Hands-on Workshop on Fiber Optic Measurements and Component Testing

Monday, March 22, 2010
1:30 p.m.–5:30 p.m.
Lorenz Cartellieri¹, Roger Rutz¹, Caroline Connolly², Richard Buerli²; ¹Experior Photonics, USA, ²OptoTest, USA
Level: Beginner (no background or minimal training is necessary to understand course material)

Course Description

This Short Course focuses on the practical aspects of working with fiber optic components and instrumentation used to make optical performance characterization measurements. Three fully equipped stations are available for hands-on participation. After a 45-minute orientation, the class splits into three groups: Rotation 1) Basic Component Testing—test and measurement techniques and latent issues involving single-mode and multimode fiber, cable and connectors (including launch condition effects, bend loss sensitivity, insertion loss and return loss, and visual fault location). Rotation 2) Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) and Fiber Link Characterization—understanding the measurements involved in characterizing a fiber link for high speed communications. Includes a demonstration of an OTDR for testing and troubleshooting of networks. By analyzing the backscatter, links length, attenuation and reflections can be analyzed. Anomalies such as connectors, splices and breaks can be evaluated. As speeds increase, measurements such as Chromatic and Polarization-Mode Dispersion become necessary. These letter measurements will be reviewed and demonstrated. Rotation 3) Polarization Dependence of Fiber Optic Components—demonstration of polarization dependence of fiber optic components and how to measure and evaluate this parameter. Test instruments such as polarization controllers, tunable lasers and optical power meters are used to measure PDL using the All-States-Method and the Mueller-Stokes-Method. Experiments will help participants visualize polarization dependent behaviors of fiber-optic components.

Benefits and Learning Objectives

This course should enable you to:

Explain the fundamental optical differences and applications of single-mode fiber (SMF) vs. multimode fiber (MMF), including the different fiber types and fiber sizes.
Identify the different connector types and understand their specific performance features (i.e., E2000, FC, LC, Mil-Styles, MTP, SC, ST, etc.) plus the various end-face options (i.e. Expanded Beam, NC, PC, SPC, UPC and APC).
Test connectors, cable assemblies and fiber links for insertion loss (IL) and return loss (RL), while also understanding how these measurements can be affected by wavelength and launch conditions.
Measure polarization dependent loss (PDL) of fiber optic component.
Test and troubleshoot fiber links and component assemblies using OTDR techniques.
Measure and understand performance parameters of passive optical network components.

Intended Audience

This course is valuable to engineers and managers interested in measurements and characterization of fiber optic components. Class size is limited to 16. Some familiarity with fiber optic test equipment is assumed.

Biography

Lorenz Cartellieri is the president of Experior Photonics Inc. He has more than 10 years of experience in the fiber optic industry and test applications. Working for Airbus in Germany, he completed a study on OTDR use in aircraft. At Rifocs Corp. he designed fiber optic instruments, managed physical layer test systems and taught courses on fiber optics. Cartellieri is Chairman of the TIA Subcommittee for Fiber Optic Metrology FO-4.5. He holds a BSEE from the University of Hanover in Germany and a master's degree from the University of Phoenix.

Roger Rutz is the National Sales Manager at Experior Photonics Laboratories. Prior to joining Experior Photonics he spent 10 years with EXFO, where he held positions as application engineer for optical test products and territory sales manager for the US Western Region. Prior to his time at EXFO, Roger spent 5 years at RIFOCS Corp. as an application engineer for all optical test products. Roger grew up in Zürich, Switzerland, where he completed all of his schooling including a degree in RF electronics.

Caroline Connolly is a sales director at OptoTest Corp. and has been involved with fiber optic test and measurements technologies and cable assemblies for more than 12 years. Her experience covers all areas of physical layer optical testing ranging from laboratory to field applications. Before joining OptoTest, she worked in various key sales positions at Rifocs Corp. Connolly holds a bachelor's degree in business management from the University of Phoenix.

Richard Buerli is the president of OptoTest Corp. and has been involved in fiber optics test and measurement since 1984. His background encompasses the communications and telecommunications industries, including LAN instruments, fiber optics, fiber optic components and fiber optic test equipment. He previously served as vice president of new product development for Tempo Research, a test equipment supplier for some of the most respected companies in the datacom, telecom and fiber optics market, where he assumed responsibility for RIFOCS engineering and product development and led an engineering team of 25 engineers and support staff. At Photodyne/3M Photodyne, Buerli was a senior product engineer for fiber optics products, specializing in optical time domain reflectometers (OTDRs). He holds a master's degree in computer sciences from the Institute for Technology (ETHZ), Zurich, Switzerland; a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from HTL Winterthur, Switzerland; and a certification in management from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He is a member of IEEE, SPIE and TIA, and has published articles in various trade magazines.