What is the Meaning of UPC and APC? Whenever a connector is installed on the end of fiber, loss is incurred. Some of this light loss is reflected directly back down the fiber towards the light source that generated it. These back reflections will damage the laser light sources and also disrupt the transmitted signal. To reduce back reflections, we can polish connector ferrules to different finishes. There are four types of connector ferrule polishing style in all. UPC and APC are two types of them. UPC stands for Ultra Physical Contact connector. The current trend is using it in deadlines to allow operators to perform networks tests for example by using an OTDR. APC stands for Angled Physical Contact connector. APC is the most used polishing type nowadays. Click here you can find more information about other types of connectors. Differences between UPC and APC Connector Application APC is more suited for high bandwidth applications and long distance links, such as FTTx, passive optical network (PON) and wavelength division multiplex (WDM), they are more sensitive to return loss. If the return loss requirement is not high, UPC is a better choice. Appearance The main difference between UPC connector and APC connector is the fiber endface. APC connectors have the endface that is polished at an eight degree angle, while UPC connectors are polished with no angle, but UPC connectors have a slight curvature. Return Loss Return loss, also known as reflection loss, is a parameter representing the signal reflection performance. The end faces of APC connectors are beveled, so the return loss of APC connectors is usually better than UPC connectors. In general, the return loss of the PC fiber cable is -40dB. UPC return loss is higher relative to PC, generally at -55dB (or even higher). APC industry-standard return…
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What is the Meaning of UPC and APC? Whenever a connector is installed on the end of fiber, loss is incurred. Some of this light loss is reflected directly back down the fiber towards the light source that generated it. These back reflections will damage the laser light sources and also disrupt the transmitted signal. To reduce back reflections, we can polish connector ferrules to different finishes. There are four types of connector ferrule polishing style in all. UPC and APC are two types of them. UPC stands for Ultra Physical Contact connector. The current trend is using it in deadlines to allow operators to perform networks tests for example by using an OTDR. APC stands for Angled Physical Contact connector. APC is the most used polishing type nowadays. Click here you can find more information about other types of connectors. Differences between UPC and APC Connector Application APC is more suited for high bandwidth applications and long distance links, such as FTTx, passive optical network (PON) and wavelength division multiplex (WDM), they are more sensitive to return loss. If the return loss requirement is not high, UPC is a better choice. Appearance The main difference between UPC connector and APC connector is the fiber endface. APC connectors have the endface that is polished at an eight degree angle, while UPC connectors are polished with no angle, but UPC connectors have a slight curvature. Return Loss Return loss, also known as reflection loss, is a parameter representing the signal reflection performance. The end faces of APC connectors are beveled, so the return loss of APC connectors is usually better than UPC connectors. In general, the return loss of the PC fiber cable is -40dB. UPC return loss is higher relative to PC, generally at -55dB (or even higher). APC industry-standard return…Read more →
Fiber splicing Do’s: environment clean, extreme care fiber, suitable tools. Don’ts: smoke, eat, light in fiber, look fiber endface.Read more →
