Absorption

That portion of attenuation resulting from conversion of optical power to heat. ... [ more ]

ADSL

Assymetrical Digital Subscriber Line. A method to increase transmission speed in a copper cable. ADSL facilitates the division of capacity into a chan ... [ more ]

AM

A transmission technique in which the amplitude of the carrier is varied in accordance with the signal. ... [ more ]

American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

The coordinating organization for voluntary standards in the United States... [ more ]

Angular Misalignment

A loss of optical power caused by deviation from optimum alignment of fiber-to-fiber or fiber-to-waveguide... [ more ]

APC

Angled Physical Contact. Connector designed with an 8 degree angle at the end of the ferrule... [ more ]

Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)

An IC designed for specific applications; specifically a gate array or a full custom chip. See Integrated Circuit. ... [ more ]

Aramid Yarn

Strength element used in cable to provide support and additional protection of the fiber bundles. See Kevlar. ... [ more ]

Armoring

Additional protection between jacketing layers to provide protection against severe outdoor environments. Usually made of plastic-coated steel, and ma ... [ more ]

Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)

A connection-type transmission mode carrying information organized into blocks (header plus information field); it is asynchronous in the sense that r ... [ more ]

ATM

Asynchronous Transfer Mode. ATM is capable of sharing bandwidth amongst various processes such as voice, data or video at either fixed or variable spe ... [ more ]

Attenuation Coefficient

The rate of optical power loss with respect to distance along the fiber, usually measured in decibels per kilometer (dB/km) at a specific wavelength. ... [ more ]

Attenuation

The decrease in signal strength along a fiber-optic waveguide caused by absorption and scattering. Attenuation is usually expressed in dB/km.