Fiber characterization

When it comes to high-speed transmission, especially when transmitting at 10G, 40G/100G, assessing fiber quality is a must. Once the basic parameters (i.e., loss, ORL, etc.) are under control, the next step is to qualify the fiber and to ensure that it is fit for transporting actual customer traffic. Polarization-mode dispersion (PMD) and chromatic dispersion (CD) optical testing become crucial at high speeds.