Optical Attenuators

Product List

An variable optical attenuator, or fiber optic attenuator, is a device used to continuously reduce the power level of an optical signal, either in free space or in an optical fiber.

Variable Optical attenuators are commonly used in fiber optic communications, either to test power level margins by temporarily adding a calibrated amount of signal loss, or installed permanently to properly match transmitter and receiver levels. Sharp bends stress optic fibers and can cause losses. If a received signal is too strong a temporary fix is to wrap the cable around a pencil until the desired level of attenuation is achieved. However, such arrangements are unreliable, since the stressed fiber tends to break over time.

Fiberpark's Variable Optical Attenuators are used in the fiber optic links to reduce the optical power to achieve certain attenuation, especially for the optic links in testing instruments and short distance optical signal attenuation.