Fiber Optic Glossary

O Ring
Also referred to as peripheral seal is used around the periphery of a connector shell and is compressed internally between...
OADM
An abbreviation for optical add-drop module.
OAM
Abbreviation for operation, administration, and maintenance, which refers to telecommunications networks.
OAN
Abbreviation for optical access network which is a network technology based on passive optical networks. It includes an optical switch...
OCWR
An abbreviation for optical continuous wave reflectometer.
ODN
An abbreviation for optical distribution network.
ODP
An abbreviation for optical data processing.
ODS
An abbreviation for optical data storage.
OEIC
Abbreviation for opto-electronic integrated circuit which is an integrated circuit that includes both optical and electrical elements.
OEM
An abbreviation for original equipment manufacturer.
OFCR
Optical Fiber Conductive Riser
OFCR
Optical Fiber Conductive Riser
OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing – a frequency division modulation technique for transmitting large amounts of digital data over a radio...
OFNG Optical Fiber Nonconductive General Purpose
Type OFNG cable must be resistant to the spread of fire and suitable for general-purpose use, with the exception of...
OFNP Optical Fiber Nonconductive Plenum
Cable installed in ducts, plenums, and other spaces used for environmental air must be listed as having adequate fire-resistant and...
OFNR Optical Fiber Nonconductive Riser
Optical fiber cable used in vertical shafts, or in runs between floors, must have fire-resistant characteristics capable of preventing the...
Ohm
The electrical resistance between two points of a conductor at a constant difference of potential of one volt, applied between...
OIDA
An acronym for Optoelectronics Industry Development Association.
OLED
An abbreviation for organic light-emitting diode.
OLT
Abbreviation for optical line termination.
OLTS
An abbreviation for optical loss test set.
OM1
OM1 stands for 62.5/125um multi-mode fiber and used for Ethernet systems using LEDs as transmitters. Multi-mode fibers are described using...
OM2
OM2 stands for 50/125um multi-mode fiber and used for Ethernet systems using LEDs as transmitters. Multi-mode fibers are described using...
OM3
OM3 stands for laser-optimized 50/125um multi-mode fiber and used for systems with high bandwidth such as 10 Gigabit Ethernet using...
ONI
An abbreviation for optical network interface.
ONU
An abbreviation for optical network unit.
OOI
Abbreviation for open optical interface which is a point at which an optical signal is passed from one equipment medium...
Open Standard Interconnect
A 7-layer model defined by ISO for defining a data communication network. It provides means for executing the blue print of...
Open Waveguide
An all-dielectric waveguide in which electromagnetic waves are guided by a refractive index gradient so that the waves are confined...
Operating System
The software of a computer that controls the execution of programs, typically handling the functions of input/output, resource scheduling and...
Opti Jack
The Opti-Jack is a rugged duplex connector designed uniquely around two ST-type ferrules in a package the size of a...
Optical Amplifier
A device that amplifies light without converting it to an electrical signal.
Optical Axis OA
The line passing through both the centers of curvatures of the optical surfaces of a lens; the optical centerline for...
Optical Bandpass
The range of optical wavelengths which can be transmitted through a component.
Optical Bandpass Filter
Optical bandpass filters transmit light over a pre-determined band of wavelengths while rejecting, by absorption, radiation or scattering, all other...
Optical Cable Assembly
An optical cable that is connector terminated. Generally, an optical cable that has been terminated by a manufacturer and is...
Optical Channel
An optical wavelength band for wavelength division multiplexing optical communications.
Optical Channel Spacing
The wavelength separation between adjacent words per minute channels.
Optical Channel Width
The optical wavelength range of a channel.
Optical Chopper
Optical choppers control transmission/blocking of light are known and widely used in optical devices such as optical memory units, optical...
Optical Circulator
An optical circulator is a non reciprocal device allowing for the routing of light from one fiber to another based...
Optical Clocks
Time measurement devices based on optical frequency standards.
Optical Comparator
An optical comparator is an essential device required for constituting an optical communication system, or an optical measuring system wherein...
Optical Connector
A demountable device for attaching a cabled or uncabled optical fiber to another, or to an active device such as...
Optical Continuous Wave Reflectometer
An instrument used to characterize a fiber optic link wherein an unmodulated signal is transmitted through the link and the resulting...
Optical Correlator
An optical correlator automatically recognizes or identifies the contents of an image by combining an incoming image with a reference...
Optical Data Storage ODS
The storage of information via optical means, primarily employing a low-power laser to inscribe data on a photosensitive surface as...
Optical Demultiplexer
A device that separates two or more optical wavelengths from a single input or fiber into multiple fibers or...
Optical Directional Coupler
A component used to combine and separate optical power.
Optical Disk
A rigid medium, generally polycarbonate substrate coated with a reflective aluminum layer, that stores information (such as audio, video or...
Optical Fall Time
The time interval for the falling edge of an optical pulse to transition from 90% to 10% of the pulse...
Optical Fiber
A thin filament of drawn or extruded glass or plastic having a central core and a cladding of lower index...
Optical Fiber Cable Link Segment
A length of optical fiber cable containing two optical fibers and comprising one or more optical fiber cable sections and...
Optical Fiber Conductive OFC
Abbreviation for optical fiber, conductive . Note: OFC is the designation given by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to...
Optical Fiber Nonconductive OFN
Abbreviation for optical fiber, nonconductive . Note: OFN is the designation given by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to...
Optical Fiber Nonconductive Plenum OFNP
Abbreviation for optical fiber, nonconductive, plenum . Note: OFNP is the designation given by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)...
Optical Fiber Nonconductive Riser OFNR
Optical fiber cable used in vertical shafts, or in runs between floors, must have fire-resistant characteristics capable of preventing the...
Optical Filter
An optical fiber attenuates light due to radiation or absorption in the fiber in an optical information communication system.
Optical Frequency Standards
Frequency standards using optical transitions in atoms, ions or molecules.
Optical Intensity
Optical power per unit area.
Optical Interleaver
An optical interleaver is a 3-port passive fiber-optic device that is used to combine two sets of dense wavelength-division multiplexing...
Optical Isolator
A device that uses a short optical transmission path to accomplish electrical isolation between elements of a circuit.
Optical Junction
Any physical interface in a fiber optic system. Note: Source to fiber, fiber to fiber, fiber to detector, beam to...
Optical Launch Point
Focal point coming out of the laser.
Optical Link
Any optical transmission channel designed to connect two end terminals or to be connected in series with other channels.
Optical Link Loss Budget
The range of optical loss over which a fiber optic link will operate and meet all specifications. The loss is...
Optical Loss
The amount of optical power lost as light is transmitted through fiber, splices, couplers and other optical devices. The loss...
Optical Loss Test Set OLTS
An measurement instrument for optical loss that includes both a meter and source.
Optical Memory
The direct storage of data as bits in memory using optical systems and properties. The memory makes use of a...
Optical Metrology
The science and technology of performing measurements with light.
Optical Modulator
Optical modulators are used in optical communication systems to convert electrical signals representing data or voice into modulated optical...
Optical Molasses
An arrangement of laser beams used for cooling atoms or ions.
Optical Multiplexer
A device that combines two or more optical wavelengths into a single output or fiber.
Optical Node
The point where signals are transferred from optical fibers to other transmission media, typically twisted-pair wires or coaxial cable.
Optical Parametric Amplifiers
Optical amplifiers based on parametric nonlinear interactions.
Optical Parametric Chirped Pulse Amplification
Parametric amplification of chirped ultrashort pulses.
Optical Parametric Generators
Light sources based on parametric amplifiers with no signal or idler input.
Optical Parametric Oscillators
Coherent light sources based on parametric amplification within an optical resonator.
Optical Path Power Penalty
The additional lost budget required to account for degradation due to reflections and the combined effects of dispersion resulting from...
Optical Performance Monitor
A device installed in a WDM system to monitor signals at the transmitted wavelengths.
Optical Power
The amount of radiant energy per unit time, expressed in linear units of Watts or on a logarithmic scale, in...
Optical Power Meter
An instrument that measures the amount of optical power present at the end of a fiber or cable.
Optical Pump Laser
A shorter wavelength laser used to pump a length of fiber with energy to provide amplification at one or more...
Optical Pumping
Electronically exciting a medium with light, or specifically populating certain electronic levels.
Optical Receiver
A device that receives optical signals from an optical transmitter via the receiver fiber of that fiber optic cable. It...
Optical Reference Plane
The plane that defines the optical boundary between the plug and the receptacle.
Optical Refrigeration
A technique for cooling macroscopic crystal or a piece of glass via laser-induced fluorescence.
Optical Resonators
Arrangements of optical components which allow a beam of light to circulate.
Optical Return Loss
The ratio (expressed in units of dB) of optical power reflected by a component or an assembly to the optical...
Optical Rise Time
The time interval for the rising edge of an optical pulse to transition from 10% to 90% of the pulse...
Optical Sampling
A technique of sampling signals using laser light, often in the form of ultrashort pulses.
Optical Shutter
Optical shutters are used to modulate optical beams or particle streams. By modulating optical beams or particle streams, optical shutters...
Optical Spectrum Analyzer
Optical spectrum analyzers (OSA) are instruments that measure the optical power as a function of wavelength or frequency.
Optical Switch
A device that routes an optical signal from one or more input ports to one or more output ports. It...
Optical Thickness
The geometric thickness times the refractive index.
Optical Time Domain Reflectometer OTDR
An instrument that uses backscattered light to find faults in optical fiber and infer loss.
Optical Transmitter
Receives electrical signals from the Ethernet controller via the fiber optic transceiver's interface cable and converts electrical signals to optical...
Optical Tweezers
Arrangements for capturing and moving particles with laser beams.
Optical Waveguide
Dielectric waveguide with a core consisting of optically transparent material of low attenuation (usually silica glass) and with cladding consisting of...
Optical Waveplate
A waveplate is an optical device that resolves a linear polarized light wave into two orthogonal, linear polarized components and...

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