How to distinguish between UPC and APC?

When talking about fiber optic patch cords, such as fiber optic patch cords, pigtails, adapters and splitters, it will involve descriptions containing UPC or APC. Some customers will be curious, what is LC/UPC-LC/UPC? What is SC/APC-SC/APC? In fact, UPC and APC are two polishing methods for fiber optic ferrules. Today we will mainly introduce these two different grinding methods so that you can choose a suitable network center solution.

What is APC&UPC?

When a connector is installed on an end face of an optical fiber, return loss is inevitable, which is caused by the reflection of the light source. Severe light loss can damage the laser light source and interrupt the transmission signal. Therefore, connector ferrules with different grinding methods can avoid serious return loss to a certain extent. UPC and APC are two widely used grinding types.

UPC, or super physical contact, evolved from PC and has a better surface finish. UPC connectors rely on machine polishing and have low return loss.

APC, Which is angle physical contact. The end face is ground to an 8 degree angle, which is beveled to reduce reflection. APC can only be connected with APC. Since the structure of APC is completely different from UPC, if the two connectors are connected with a flange, the fiber end face of the connector will be damaged.

How to distinguish between UPC and APC?

The end faces are different. The UPC connector has no angle for polishing, but the APC connector has an 8 degree angle.

Light reflection method. The UPC connector will directly reflect any reflected light back to the light source during use, but the APC connector reflects the reflected light into the cladding at a certain angle instead of directly reflecting to the light source.

Return loss. The APC connector provides a return loss of -65 dB, and the UPC connector is -50 dB. If the return loss is lower, the connector can achieve better matching performance.Connector color. This is the most obvious difference that can be seen from the surface. UPC connectors are usually blue, while APC connectors are usually green.

When choosing an optical fiber jumper, it should be based on your actual application. APC connector has better performance than UPC. APC is best suited for high-bandwidth applications and long-distance links. For example, FTTx, Passive Optical Network (PON) and Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) are more sensitive to return loss,

Therefore, APC is a better solution that provides the lowest return loss. However, the extensive use of APC-connected machines will greatly increase the cost. If the requirements for return loss are not high, UPC is a better choice.

Yitian Optical Communication provides APC, UPC and other types of optical fiber patch cords with low loss and high cost performance. It is the best choice for optical communication wiring.