Fiber optic splitters play an increasingly significant role in many of today’s optical network topologies. From FTTx sys- tems to traditional optical networks, splitters provide capa- bilities that help users maximize the functionality of optical network circuits. This paper will explore a handful of the dif- ferent types and functions of splitters, with an emphasis on two key applications – passive circuit monitoring and FTTx/ PON architectures.

In simple terms, a fiber optic splitter is a passive optical device that can split, or separate, an incident light beam into two or more light beams. These beams may or may not have the same optical power as the original beam, based on the configuration of the splitter. By means of construction, the outputs of a splitter can have varying degrees of throughput, which is highly beneficial when designing optical networks, whether the splitter is used for network monitoring or for a loss budget in a passive optical network (PON) architecture.

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