How many fiber optic connector types do you know?

Fiber optic connectors of various configurations and types are considered to be an important part of optical cable. Generally speaking, different optical cable connector types can be classified according to different criteria such as utilization rate, number of optical fibers, optical fiber mode, transmission mode, transmission medium, guide length, polishing type and termination mode. Optical fiber connector type.

Purpose: Optical fiber connector and adapter panel connection

The following types of optical connectors, such as LC/SC/MTP/MPO/ST optical connectors, require an adapter panel for connection. Optical cables with these types of optical connectors are commonly used in data centers, telecom rooms, and enterprise networks.

LC connector

Lucent connector (LC) is a SFF (small) connector with a 1.25mm plug. The small size design makes these fiber optic connectors popular in data communications, making them more suitable for high-density applications. Nowadays, many people prefer to use LC fiber optic connectors for efficient wiring. LC fiber optic connector is considered to be the most commonly used connector at present.

SC connectors

The SC fiber optic connector is the first connector chosen for the TIA-568 standard. It is a clip-in connector that can be locked by a simple push and pull action. Because of the "square" connector body, "SC" stands for "square connector." It has a 2.5mm core and is twice the size of the previous LC connector. SC fiber optic connectors are ideal for data communication and telecommunications applications, including point-to-point and passive optical networks. Fiber optic SC connectors remain the second most common connector used in bias maintaining applications due to their superior performance.

MTP/MPO optical connector

Unlike the first two types of fiber optic connectors, the MTP/MPO fiber connector is a multicore connector, larger than the other connectors, combining 12 to 24 fibers in a rectangular core. Commonly used for 40G and 100G high bandwidth optical parallel connection. MTP/MPO fiber optic connectors are complex due to up and down keys, male and female issues. You can refer to our white paper on polarities in MTP/MPO systems for a better understanding.

ST connector

The ST (Straight Tip) fiber Optic connector was created and licensed by AT&T shortly after the ADVENT of the FC type. The ST optical connector uses a 2.5mm ferrules loaded with ceramic springs to secure the optical fibers, which are held in place by a half-twist bayonet installation. They are commonly used for long - and short-range applications, such as campus and building multimode fiber optic applications, enterprise networking environments, and military applications.

FC connector

"FC" means a ferrule connector. The FC fiber connector was the first optical fiber connector to use ceramic inserts. Unlike the plastic body SC and LC connectors, it uses round screw type fittings made of nickel plated or stainless steel. The end face of the FC fiber connector relies on the alignment key to insert correctly, and then screws it into the adapter/jack using the threaded collet. Despite the added complexity in both fabrication and installation, FC connectors still provide an option for precision instruments such as OTDR, as well as for single-mode optical fibers. It was originally designed for data communication and telecommunications applications, but has been used less since the introduction of SC and LC fiber optic connectors. The use of both ST and FC connectors has declined in recent years.

MT - RJ connector

The Mechanical Transfer Registered Jack (MT-RJ) connector is a duplex connector that uses pin alignment and is available in both male and female versions. Made from a plastic housing and provides accurate alignment with its metal guide pins and plastic ferrules. The MT-RJ connector is slightly smaller in size than a standard phone jack, making it easier to connect and disconnect. In addition, MT-RJ fiber connectors offer lower terminating costs and higher densities for electronic and cable management hardware compared to other singer fiber terminations.

MU Connector

Like a miniature SC with 1.25mm ferrules. The MU fiber connector uses a simple push-pull design with a compact microbody for compact multi-fiber connectors and a self-holding mechanism for backplane applications. You can get custom high power MT-RJ/MU fiber connectors in FS.

DIN connector

DIN connectors are round, with pins arranged in a circle. It contains several types of cables that plug into interfaces to connect devices. Typically, full-size DIN connectors have 3 to 14 pins and are 13.2 mm in diameter. It is suitable for PC keyboards, MIDI instruments and other dedicated devices.

E2000 connector

The E2000 connector is a push-pull coupling mechanism with an automatic metal shutter in the connector for dust and laser beam protection. Integrated design for quick termination, the E2000 fiber optic connector is used for high security and high power applications.