PLC FIBER SPLITTER
As fiber optic link becomes more and more acceptable by average consumers, Passive Optical Network (PON) systems are more widely deployed in common homes. Fiber optic splitter is an indispensable passive optical device in PON systems. PLC splitter is newer than FBT splitter and is also the focus of this post. PLC splitter, also called Planar Waveguide Circuit splitter, is used to divide one or two light beams to multiple light beams uniformly or combine multiple light beams to one or two light beams. It is a passive optical device with many input and output terminals, especially applicable to PON (EPON, GPON, BPON, FTTX, etc.) to connect the MDF (main distribution frame) and the terminal equipment and to branch the optical signal. Fiber PLC splitter provides a low cost light distribution solution with high stability and reliability. PLC splitters can offer a splitting ratio up to 1x32, which is generally higher than the splits of FBT splitter.
Fiber optic PLC splitter can be categorized by the PLC splitter chip they use, meaning there are 1xN and 2xN PLC splitters, such as 1x4, 1x8, 1x16, 1x32 etc. Installers can choose different input and output numbers depending on subscriber conditions or cable length. In addition, PLC splitter manufacturers produce different packages of PLC modules to meet clients’ needs in various scenarios, including small size PLC splitter that need to be used in terminal box and big size rack mounted PLC that can be installed in racks. Actually the package of PLC splitter is a key factor to be considered in purchase. Here are some common types of PLC splitters in the market.
