A statistical approach for estimating the loss contribution of concatenated connectors in fiber-optic links

It is shown that the elementary approach to the calculation of concatenated fiber-optic connector loss of simply adding best-case and worst-case losses leads to an unrealistic minimum and maximum link loss prediction. A more accurate statistical approach based on the loss distribution of a single connector with a method for numerical convolution is developed. For a 10-connector link, the statistical model predicts the 1% and 99% loss values as 5.52 dB and 8.75 dB, respectively, based on available data for a particular connector used in military fiber-optic systems. By simply multiplying the single connector 1% and 99% loss values by ten, a connector loss range of 3.2 dB to 14.8 dB is predicted. Appropriate calculation of concatenated connector loss values can lead to relaxation of the performance requirements of the remaining components. This method is easily expanded to include all other components that contribute to link budget calculations