Industry Focus: Test & Measurement

The Test & Measurement Industry offers various types of measurement, simulation and diagnostics of products in several fields, including: oil and energy, medical, aerospace, telecom and more. These services play a role in designing, measuring, monitoring, communication and manufacturing to ensure product performance, data collection, informed decision making and overall improved customer satisfaction.

Fiber optics are used throughout the test & measurement industry in a variety of uniquely non-traditional applications to deliver technologies that were never before possible. Services using optical fiber sensors provide decision makers and engineers with valuable data to assist with troubleshooting, bench-marking and improving mission critical networks. This is of great importance to both telecom companies and enterprise networks. It’s also beneficial to various specialized testing environments, such as EMI testing, environmental testing, and spectroscopy.

Test reference grade cords are designed to produce the most consistent, reliable data with minimal variation in performance. As compared to standard fiber optic cables, the manufacturing of these cords utilize premium components and specialized glass. Additionally, since test reference cords are held to a strict standard that meets insertion loss and return loss, best practice is to ensure that GR certified connectors are used and the manufacturer’s termination process is understood. Detailed testing data is typically packaged with these cords and includes an interferometer scan, IL/IR test results and end face photos (at 400% magnification to ensure there is no visible damage in the defect zone) of each cable verifying the quality and performance of each cord. Of note for test reference cords, the I/L should meet the 326-Core minimum of .4dB, while the R/L should meet 55dB for UPC connectors and 65 dB for APC connectors.