January 5, 2006 Newbury Park, CA -- OptoTest has released its OP930 singlemode and multimode insertion loss/return loss meters, which according to the company perform automated insertion loss and return loss measurements in optical fibers, "mandrel free and without index matching gel."
According to the company, incorporating a stabilized single-, dual-, or quad-wavelength transmitter and high-precision InGaAs optical power meter in a compact, self-contained benchtop unit, the OP930 uses a proven method employing a chain of light pulses to quickly and easily measure insertion loss and return loss in either singlemode or multimode fiber-optic cables, depending upon instrument configuration.
"When qualifying fiber-optic cables in a production setting, traditional insertion loss and return loss measurement methods are usually either time-consuming or messy, and require a considerable amount of hand labor," explains Caroline Connolly, sales director for OptoTest. "By automating these tedious and repetitive insertion loss and return loss measurement tasks, and eliminating most of the manual operations required, the OP930 instruments enable cable and component manufacturers to realize significant gains in productivity and output without compromising quality or measurement accuracy."
All OP930 insertion loss/return loss meters feature a backlit, user-friendly multi-function LCD display that summarizes measurement and instrument status information at a glance, says the company. Additionally, a built-in USB interface enables the OP930 instruments to be controlled from a remote PC-compatible workstation using the company's OPL-PRO turnkey application software, which drives the measurement process and logs acquired data for statistical analysis. Custom software can also be created for specific requirements.
The OP930 is available in two basic configurations, built to customer order:
The OP930-SM configuration is designed for singlemode fiber-optic cables, and can be specified with 1310-nm, 1490-nm, 1550-nm or 1625-nm single-, dual-, or quad wavelength laser source. This singlemode version is capable of measuring return loss up to 72 dB.
The OP930-MM configuration is designed for Gigabit Ethernet and other multimode fiber-optic cables, and can be specified with either an 850-nm or 1300-nm single-wavelength LED source or a combined 850-nm/1300-nm dual-wavelength LED source. This multimode version is capable of measuring return loss up to 50 dB.
All versions of the OP930 offer various detector and connector options allowing the loss meters to be tailored for single optical fibers, MT-RJ duplex cables, or MTP/MPO multichannel ribbon cables.