Cleaning Optical Fiber Connectors Using the Cassette Cleaner

Prerequisites

Before cleaning, inspect the fiber end face with a fiber microscope or a magnifier to confirm the degree of fiber contamination. Clean the fiber only when it is severely contaminated. This is because the cleaning operation itself may introduce dust, dirt, or cause damage to the fiber.

The following procedure provides the steps to clean the fiber connectors using cartridge type cleaners. There are several types of cartridge cleaners. The following describes a type of CLETOP cassette cleaner.

Tools, Equipment, and Materials

The following lists the required tools, equipment and materials for cleaning optical fiber connectors:

• CLETOP cassette cleaner

• Optical power meter

• 400X fiber microscope (A video fiber microscope is recommended.)

Precautions

Laser energy is invisible and may cause eye injuries. Never look directly into fiber connectors or ports.

Electrostatic discharge is hazardous to the electronic equipment. Wear an ESD wrist strap and ensure that the strap is grounded properly before touching the equipment and boards, to protect the static-sensitive components against electrostatic discharge of the human body. Otherwise, the equipment may be damaged or the service may be interrupted.

Procedure

1. Shut down the laser and disconnect the fiber end before inspecting the fiber connector.

2. Test the optical power using a power meter to ensure that the laser is shut down.

3. Press down and hold the lever of the cassette cleaner. The shutter slides back and exposes a new cleaning area. See Figure 1.

   Figure 1 Using the CLETOP cassette cleaner
   

4. Place the fiber end face gently against the cleaning area.

5. Drag the fiber end face gently on one cleaning area in the arrow direction each time. See Figure 2. Do it again on the other cleaning area in the same direction as the first time once. See Figure 3.
   

   Do not drag the fiber end face on the same cleaning area more than once. Otherwise, the connector can be contaminated or damaged.

   Figure 2 Dragging the fiber end face gently on one cleaning area
   
   Figure 3 Dragging the fiber end face gently on the other cleaning area
   

6. Release the lever of the cassette cleaner to close the cleaning area.

7. Use a fiber microscope to inspect the fiber to check whether there is any dirt. For details see the examples shown in "Inspecting Optical Fiber Connectors". If the fiber end face is still dirty, repeat 1 to 6.

8. Connect the fiber to the optical port immediately. If it is not used for the time being, put a protective cap on it.

9. Turn on the laser after connecting the fiber to the board.