Reliability of Fiber Optic Connectors

Fiber Optic equipment including wet-mate optical connectors is a key part of today's subsea infrastructure in oceanographic, defense and oil and gas applications. For secure communications, high bandwidth applications and large step-out distances fiber optic technology is superior to electrical data transfer. Despite these significant advantages, perceived reliability of fiber optic technology especially subsea wet-mate connectors has been heavily debated in the industry. This paper examines some of the common industry concerns over fiber optics and the recent advancements in the industry that have improved the robustness and reliability of subsea fiber optic interconnections. The paper also looks at accelerated aging tests and field data that demonstrate repeatable performance of subsea connectors over hundreds of mate cycles. This paper will also present information concerning the robustness of fiber optic interconnects to handle subsea interventions and installations, highlighting recent advancements in the connector designs to allow easy and repeatable mating and demating of these devices in the harsh subsea environments. Finally, another impediment to common use of the fiber-optic connectors is the perceived technology readiness with successful deployment history. The paper dissects the relevant reliability data from the use of these connectors over the past 15 years and uncovers important inferences on the reliability of subsea fiber optic interconnects.