Introduction to LC/MU One-Push Cleaner

When the transmission of the light signal in optic fiber is affected or completely blocked, the main cause is sometimes to be the contamination on the end-faces of connectors or adapters. Therefore, it is extremely important to clean the pollution otherwise the transmission will be greatly influenced. But how can we make a quick and easy clean? The good news is that the problem can now be solved with only one push. The product of one-push cleaner is designed for the convenient and environmental cleaning of end-face contamination, such as road dust, skin oil residue, salt water residue, alcohol residue, vegetable residue, graphite dryer lint, hand lotion and distilled water residue.

one-push cleaner for 1.25mm ferrules

The LC/MU one-push cleaner is only available for 1.25mm ferrules, since it is the parameter standard for LC and MU products. Also, the cleaner should be discarded after 750 cleaning times to avoid further contamination. And the LC/MU one-push cleaner can be applied in two polish types of connectors as APC and PC.

The usage of LC/MU one-push cleaner is relatively simple for average people. When it is employed for LC/MU connectors, make sure just remove the cover dust cap. Next, connectors should be inserted into guide cap for a clean click. However, when it is applied for LC/MU adapters, the guide cap should also be removed. Then insert the cleaner tip into adapters with a click. In addition, please pay attention to the depth of adapters. If they are recessed adapters, the tip length should be extended to reach the adapter.

adapter cleaning

Of course, LC/MU one-push cleaner is just a small category of the one-push cleaner family. According to different types of connectors or adapters, there are also many diverse one-push cleaners, for example, the MTP/MPO one-push cleaner which includes the thumb wheels, the SC/ST/FC/LSH one-push cleaner which is used for 2.5mm ferrules and so on. Therefore, people should be careful about the product model before purchasing.

Besides, some fiber optic testers may provide help for the inspection before cleaning and maintenance after cleaning of connectors and adapters. For instance, optical power meter and visual fault locator can be used for detecting whether the light has power loss or is disconnected at a certain point so as to find the specific cleaning area, and the fiber identifier can be employed for the daily maintenance by checking whether the signal is transmitted uninterruptedly after cleaning.

As an easier tool for the cleaning of LC/MU connector and adapter, one-push cleaner is the top choice for everyone who is in charge of the cleaning in data center. With just one push, most of the contamination will be gone, and optic transmission will go back to normal again. For more information about LC/MU one-push cleaner, please visit our website at FS.COM.

LC Connector Introduction

Fiber optic connectors are used to the mechanical and optical means for cross connecting fibers. Fiber optic connectors can also be used to join fiber cables to transmitters or receivers. There have been many types of connectors developed for fiber cable. Single mode networks have used FC or SC connectors in about the same proportion as ST and SC in multimode installations. But LC connector with smaller size and higher performance has become popular and the connector choice for optical transceivers for systems operating at gigabit speeds. The following text gives a detailed introduction of LC connector.

History of LC Connector

LC stands for Lucent Connector, as the LC connector was developed by Lucent Technologies as a response to the need by their primary customers, the telcos, for a small, low insertion loss connector. Then the LC design was standardized in EIA/TIA-604-10 and is offered by other manufacturers.

SC connector and LC connector

Advantages of LC Connector

There are solid reasons that the LC is the preferred connector for high-performance network. From the appearance, LC connect is like a mini size of SC connector. LC connector borrows split-sleeve construction and a cylindrical ferrule (usually ceramic) from SC connector. LC connector has a push-and-latch design providing pull-proof stability in system rack mounts. The picture on the right shows the appearance of SC connector and LC connector.

The ferrule size of LC connector is 1.25 mm which is half the size of SC connector ferrule—2.5 mm. LC connector is rated for 500 mating cycles and its typical insertion loss is 0.25 dB. An interesting feature of the LC is that, in some designs, the ferrule can be “tuned” or rotated with a special tool after it has been assembled. This offers a considerable performance advantage. The design and performance of LC connector address the need for high density and low insertion loss.

Application of LC Connector

LC connector can be found in many places for termination and connection, especially SFP transceivers for gigabit transmission. For example, the optic interfaces of Cisco SFP transceivers are all LC connectors. Some other applications are as following:

Simplex and duplex LC connectors

  • Telecommunication networks
  • Local area networks
  • Data processing networks
  • Cable television
  • Fiber-to-the-home
  • Premises distribution
LC Connector Selection Guide

To meet the needs of market, there are various types of LC connectors provided now. During the selection of LC connector, transmission media should be the first factor to consider. LC connector favors single mode fiber optic cable. But it can also be used with multimode fiber optic cable. Signals sometimes are transferred over simplex fiber optic cable and sometime duplex fiber optic cable. Thus, LC connector has both simplex and duplex design. The picture above shows an APC simplex LC connector on the left and a UPC duplex LC connector on the right. Some other factors like polishing style (APC or UPC), hole size and cable diameter should not be ignored. For more details about LC connectors, you can visit Fiberstore which provides various LC connectors with high performance and low price.