Fiber cable termination is the addition of connectors to each

optical fiber An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means to ...

in a

cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

. The fibers need to have connectors fitted before they can attach to other equipment. Two common solutions for fiber cable termination are pigtails and fanout kits or breakout kits.

Pigtails

A fiber pigtail is a single, short, usually tight-buffered, optical fiber that has an optical connector pre-installed on one end and a length of exposed fiber at the other end. The end of the pigtail is

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and fusion spliced to a single fiber of a multi-fiber trunk. Splicing of pigtails to each fiber in the trunk "breaks out" the multi-fiber cable into its component fibers for connection to the end equipment. Pigtails can have female or male connectors. Female connectors could be mounted in a

patch panel A patch panel is a device or unit featuring a number of jacks, usually of the same or similar type, for the use of connecting and routing circuits for monitoring, interconnecting, and testing circuits in a convenient, flexible manner. Patch ...

, often in pairs although single-fiber solutions exist, to allow them to be connected to endpoints or other fiber runs with patch fibers. Alternatively they can have male connectors and plug directly into an optical

transceiver In radio communication, a transceiver is an electronic device which is a combination of a radio ''trans''mitter and a re''ceiver'', hence the name. It can both transmit and receive radio waves using an antenna, for communication purposes. The ...

Fanout kit (breakout kit)

A ''fanout kit'' is a set of empty jackets designed to protect fragile tight-buffered strands of fiber from a cable. This allows the individual fibers to be terminated without splicing, and without needing a protective enclosure such as a

splicebox A splice box (also known as splice distributor) is a housing in which fiber optic cables begin or end. Fiber optics are fanned out in splice boxes that are situated at the end of fiber optic transmission paths. The main components of a splice b ...

. This is normally an option with fiber distribution cable, or sometimes loose-buffer or ribbon cable, because these types of cable contain multiple strands that are designed for a permanent termination. The ribbon fanout pigtails include: Ribbon cable, Fanout kit, Fanout tubing and Connectors.

Zip-cord Zip-cord is a type of electrical cable with two or more conductors held together by an insulating jacket that can be easily separated simply by pulling apart. In Australia it is known as 'figure-8' cable. The zip-cord term is also used with opt ...

style jackets, including those that contain

Aramid yarn Aramid fibers, short for aromatic polyamide, are a class of heat-resistant and strong synthetic fibers. They are used in aerospace and military applications, for ballistic-rated body armor fabric and ballistic composites, in marine cordage, mari ...

as the

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, can be slipped over multiple fiber strands coming out of a loose buffer cable to convert it to a complete set of single-fiber cables that can be directly attached to optical connectors. A plastic boot is normally used for strain relief and protection from moisture. Use of a breakout kit enables a fiber-optic cable containing multiple loose buffer tubes to receive connectors without the splicing of pigtails.
ATIS Definition: breakout kit

References

Fiber optics Telecommunications equipment {{telecom-stub

Pigtails

Fanout kit (breakout kit)

See also

References