Fiber Optic Adapter Manufacturers

73 Fiber Optic Adapter manufacturers listed.
Fiber optic adapters (or couplers) are connectors designed to connect two ends of a fiber optic cable with high precision. The leading manufacturers of Fiber optic adapters are listed below. Narrow down on the list of companies based on their location and capabilities.
No Companies match the search criteria.

What is a Fiber Optic Adapter?

A fiber optic adapter (or coupler) is a connector designed to connect two ends of a fiber optic cable with high precision. It uses a simple design where the ends of two separate fiber optic cables with fiber optic connectors fit into two slots opposite to each other as shown in the figure below. The slots are designed to precisely align the two ends so that there is minimal signal loss. The optical fiber adapter can be inserted into different types of optical connectors at both ends of the optical fiber adapter to understand the conversion between different interfaces. Precision mating is done through the alignment sleeves, which are made of either ceramic or metal such as copper to provide rigid support for the connectors, whereas the body of the connector itself is made of plastic. 


There are single fiber connectors (simplex), dual fiber connectors (duplex), or sometimes four fiber connectors (quad version). Duplex or multi-adapter adapts to increase installation density and save space. Some optical connectors namely Ferrule Connector (FC), Subscriber Connector (SC), Straight tip (ST) Connector, Lucent Connector (LC), Mechanical Transfer Registered Jack (MTRJ) Connector, Multi-fiber Push On (MPO) Connectors and push-pull coupling E2000 connector, and these are widely used in optical fiber distribution frames (ODFs) Instruments, providing superior, stable and reliable performance. Fiber optic adapters are designed for multimode or single-mode cables. The single-mode adapters offer more precise alignment of the tips of the connectors ferrules. Singlemode adapters are compatible to connect multimode cables, one should not use multimode adapters to connect single-mode cables. This can cause misalignment of the small single-mode fibers and loss of signal strength. There are fiber optic adapters/couplers made for every type of fiber optic connector available some are described below:

FC Fiber Optic Adapter


Ferrule Connector fiber optic adapter was first developed by Japan Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT). The earliest, FC-type connectors, are simple in structure, easy to operate, and easy to manufacture. However, the fiber end face is more sensitive to dust, and it is easy to produce Fresnel reflection and it is difficult to improve the return loss performance. Fresnel reflection is the reflection of a portion of incident optical energy at an interface surface between two homogeneous propagation media having different refractive indices. E.g. Fresnel reflection occurs at the air-glass interfaces at the entrance and exit ends of an optical fiber. Later, this type of connector has been improved, by connecting the spherical end of the pin in the PC, while the external structure has not changed, making the insertion loss and return loss performance has been greatly improved.

SC Fiber Optic Adapter

Japan NTT Corporation developed the first SC Fiber Optic Adapter. The shell of this fiber optic adapter is rectangular, and the pin and the coupling sleeve used in the structure are of the same size as the FC type. One end of the pin uses more process control, here the casting method is used to plug the pin type, without rotation. These are inexpensive, easy to plug and unplug, and have low insertion loss variations, high compressive strength, and high installation density.

DIN47256 Fiber Optic Adapter

This is a connector developed by Germany. The pins and coupling sleeves used in this connector are the same size as the FC type and are used for end-face processing. Compared with the FC-type connector, the structure is more complex, and the internal metal structure has a control pressure spring to prevent the end face from being damaged due to excessive insertion pressure. In addition, this connector has higher mechanical accuracy and therefore smaller insertion loss values.

MT-RJ Fiber Optic Adapter


MT-RJ was developed by NTT with the same latching mechanism as the LAN electrical connector. The alignment of the optical fiber with guide pins mounted on both sides of the small bushing made it easy to communicate with the optical transceiver. The machine connected to the connector end of the optical fiber for the dual-core array design is mainly used for data transmission by next-generation high-density fiber optic connectors.

LC Fiber Optic Adapter


The lc-type connector is developed by BELL (Bell) Institute of research and development, and the use of a convenient modular registered jack (RJ) latch mechanism was made. The pins and sleeves used are half the sizes used for normal SC, FC, etc. which increase the density of fiber optic connectors in fiber distribution frames. Currently, in the single-mode SFF, the LC type of connector has actually occupied the dominant position, and the application of multi-mode is also growing rapidly.

MU Fiber Optic Adapter

The Miniature Unit Coupling connector is the world’s smallest single-core fiber optic connector developed by NTT. The connector uses a 1.25MM diameter sleeve and self-holding mechanism, the advantage is that it can achieve high-density installation. They have socket-type connectors for optical cable connections; backplane connectors with a self-holding mechanism and simplified sockets for connecting LD / PD modules and plugs. Demand for MU-type connectors will also grow rapidly as fiber-optic networks become more capable of larger bandwidths and Dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) technologies are widely used.

MTP/MPO Fiber Optic Adapters


The MPO / MTP adapter is connected using an MPO / MTP Precise connection of two guide holes with a diameter of 0.7mm and a guide pin on the left and right ends of the ferrule. MPO / MTP adapters are widely used in communication system base stations, optical fiber distribution frames (ODFs) in building rooms, MPO / MTP cassette modules, and various test instruments.

Selection of fiber optic adapter

Due to the wide variety of fiber optic adapters, one may not know how to choose a fiber optic adapter. In general, one should consider the following two tips when choosing a fiber optic adapter.

Fiber Cable Type

If the fiber adapter needs to be connected to the same fiber cable type and connector, a fiber optic adapter with a square, rectangular, or circular interface can be used. If the type of cable to be connected is different, a hybrid fiber adapter is required. This hybrid fiber adapter can connect any two types of fiber cords. Due to the wide variety of hybrid fiber optic adapters, it is important to know what type of cable to connect before purchasing.

The Sleeve Material of the fiber adapter 

The alignment sleeve is the most important component of fiber optic adapters. Some manufacturers choose metal as the material for the alignment bushings, but ceramic-made fiber optic adapters have proven to work much better than using metal as the alignment bushing. The fiber optic adapter, because the crystal structure of the ceramic is very hard and does not deform over time like metal, so it can achieve fast alignment and high-precision fiber end-face connection.

The dusting of the Fiber Optic Adapter

Although the fiber optic adapter is relatively small and belongs to a small part of the fiber optic cabling, it does not affect its importance in the fiber optic cabling system. Like other fiber optic equipment, it needs to be cleaned. There are two main cleaning methods as described below:

  • Contact cleaning method: In this method uses dust-free wiping paper or dust-free cleaning cloth; use dust-free paper or dust-free cloth with sewage alcohol to wipe the end face of the fiber optic connector. Secondly, a cassette-type optical fiber cleaning box with a special role of wiping tape is installed in the rollable casing, and the principle is to use the strong adhesive on the wiping tape to stick the dirt on the end face of the fiber connector. Thirdly, a special fiber cleaning pen is used to clean the inside of the fiber adapter or the ferrule end face. The method is very simple. The end of the refill is inserted into the ceramic sleeve of the adapter and can be cleaned with a single push. End face.
  • Non-contact cleaning method: also called the ultrasonic cleaning method uses an ultrasonic cleaning instrument and the cleaning liquid is turned into an ultrasonic “liquid column” to be sent out to the end face of the fiber connector. Another non-contact cleaning method uses a high-pressure air-blowing method; the cleaning liquid is shown on the end face of the fiber connector, and then the high-pressure gas is used to align the end face of the connector to clean the end face.

Gophotonics has listed Fiber Optic Adapters from the leading companies. Use the parametric search tool to find products based on your requirements.