The MTP® Connector

The most widely adopted MPO connector

MTP® CONNECTORS AND MPO CONNECTORS

Understanding the difference

MPO is the industry acronym for “multi-fiber push on.”

MPO connectors have more than 1 fibre in a single ferrule and snap into place by a mechanical mechanism. The first MPO connectors were developed with 12 fibres per connector. They are now available with 4, 8, 12, 24, 32, 48 and 72 fibres per connector.

The MTP connector is one brand of MPO connector. This connector brand is owned and made by US Conec.

Due to the difficulties in mating two connectors with multiple fibres, as opposed to using single fibre connectors such as an LC connector, different brands of MPO give different performance.

Are all MPO connectors the same?

There is an international MSA standard for MPO connectors which details physical and performance characteristics.

Even though there are many companies making MPO connectors to this standard, the difference in performance and longevity vary.

The MTP connector is one of the more expensive MPO type connectors available. The higher cost compared to other MPO connectors comes from the higher tolerances and specific design which also give the MTP the higher performance which is maintained.

MTP Patch Cable Connector
Genuine MTP (MPO) cable

We regularly receive calls from companies who purchase MTP® cables and on installation, find performance and quality issues due to non MTP® solutions being supplied. To help with this challenge, we offer an MTP® cable and component validation service, free of charge, to test and check any cable you may have bought to ensure it is manufactured using ‘GENUINE’ MTP® components.

Please contact us for more information

MTP® CONNECTORS AND MPO CONNECTORS

Understanding the difference

MTP 12 Fibre Connectors

Typically, MPO connectors have had 12 fibres. These were adopted for duplex networking for transmission of 1G and 10G and more recently 25G. MPO cassettes offering front LC ports for patching to equipment and rear MPO ports for connecting to MPO trunk cables we developed with either 12 or 24 fibres (i.e. with either 1 or 2 rear MPO 12 fibre ports).

These type of cassettes still dominate the modular fibre cassette network.

MTP 24, 48, 72 Fibre Connectors

MTP 24 fibre connectors are now used in sdme 200G transceivers and have been used with 100G CXP and CFP transceivers.

MTP 48 and 72 fibre connectors have been developed for use in super computing and other similar applications.

MTP 8 Fibre Connectors

BASE-8 40G and 100G networking requires 8 fibre channels. Cables with 8 fibres and single 8 fibre connectors give easy mapping of networks.

MTP 16 & 32 Fibre Connectors

MTP 16 fibre ports are now appearing in 400G transceivers when transmission is completed using 8 x 50G channels. There are also 400G transceivers being developed which use 32 fibres (16 x 25G channels).

MPO Connector Types

12 fibre MTP® connector

24 fibre MTP® connector

16 fibre MTP® connector

WHAT MAKES THE MTP CONNECTOR BETTER?

Better design, tighter tolerances.

Spring Force, ferrule tolerance, alignment pins

MPO connectors have more than 1 fibre in a single ferrule and snap into place by a mechanical mechanism. The first MPO connectors were developed with 12 fibres per connector. They are now available with 4, 8, 12, 24, 32, 48 and 72 fibres per connector.

The MTP connector is one brand of MPO connector. This connector brand is owned and made by US Conec.

Due to the difficulties in mating two connectors with multiple fibres, as opposed to using single fibre connectors such as an LC connector, different brands of MPO give different performance.

MTP short boot connector

MTP Standard Boot (top)
MTP Short Boot (bottom)

WHAT FEATURES MAKE THE MTP CONNECTOR BETTER?

More options

There are features on the MTP connector that have been specially designed to give improved performance and better usability over generic MPO connectors. These design features are unique to the MTP and are patent protected. The key features are described below:

The MTP connector housing is removable.
  • Re-work and re-polish of the MT ferrule ensures overlife performance.
  • The gender can be changed after assembly or even in the field giving flexibility at point of use.
  • The ferrule is scanned interferometrically after assembly

The MTP connector offers ferrule float to improve mechanical performance. This allows two mated ferruled to maintain physical contact while under an applied load. (US Patent 6,085,003)

The MTP connector uses tightly held tolerance stainless steel elliptical guide pin tips. The elliptical shaped guide pin tips improves guidance and reduces guide hole wear. (US Patent 6,886,988)

The MTP connector has a metal pin clamp with features for centering the push spring. This feature:
  • Eliminates lost pins
  • Centers the spring force
  • Eliminates fibre damage from the spring mechanism

The MTP connector spring design maximizes ribbon clearance For twelve fibre and multifibre ribbon applications to prevent fibre damage.

The MTP connector is offered with four standard variations strain relief boot giving more flexibility over the cable used
  • A round loose fibre cable construction
  • Oval Jacketed Cable
  • Bare Ribbon Fibre
  • Short boot which reduces the footprint by 45%. Ideal for use in space limited applications.

OUR CABLES FOR DIFFERENT APPLICATIONS

10G to 400G

MTP MPO 10G 25G OM4 48 Fibre Trunk Cable

MX Series

Cassette to cassette
10G and 25G

MTP MPO OM4 SR4 40G 100G 12 Fibre Patch Cable

100G Fibre Cabling

40G and 100G
Multimode and Singlemode

MTP MPO OM3 SR10 100G 48 Fibre Trunk Cable

M400 Series

100G
SR10 and LR10

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MTP CONNECTOR PERFORMANCE

Optical and Physical

Multimode MTP® Optical Specifications

MTP Standard MT Ferrule MTP ELITE MT Ferrule
Insertion Loss 0.20 dB Typical (All Fibres) 0.60 dB Maximum (Single Fibre)2,3 0.10 dB Typical (All Fibres) 0.35dB Maximum (Single Fibre) 2,3
Optical Return Loss > 20dB > 20dB

1. As tested per ANSI/EIA-455-171 Method D3
2. As tested per ANSI/EIA-455-171 Method D1
3. As tested with proposed encircled flux launch condition on 50um fibre & 850nm per IEC 61280-4-1
4. Compliant with proposed IEC 61755-3-31/GRADE B

Singlemode MTP® Optical Specifications

MTP Standard MT Ferrule MTP ELITE MT Ferrule
Insertion Loss 0.25 dB Typical (All Fibres) 0.75 dB Maximum (Single Fibre) 1 0.10 dB Typical (All Fibres) 0.35 dB Maximum (Single Fibre) 1,4
Optical Return Loss > 60dB (8° Angle Polish) > 60dB (8° Angle Polish)

1. As tested per ANSI/EIA-455-171 Method D3
2. As tested per ANSI/EIA-455-171 Method D1
3. As tested with proposed encircled flux launch condition on 50um fibre & 850nm per IEC 61280-4-1
4. Compliant with proposed IEC 61755-3-31/GRADE B

MTP® Physical Specifications

Multimode Singlemode
Operating temperature – 40 C to + 80 C – 40 C to + 80 C
Durability 1000 remates < 0.2 dB change (per EIA-455-21A) < 0.3 dB change (per EIA-455-21A) 500 remates

1. As tested per ANSI/EIA-455-171 Method D3
2. As tested per ANSI/EIA-455-171 Method D1
3. As tested with proposed encircled flux launch condition on 50um fibre & 850nm per IEC 61280-4-1
4. Compliant with proposed IEC 61755-3-31/GRADE B

MTP CONNECTOR FURTHER INFORMATION

Use and cleaning

Are MT Ferrules Cleaned in the Same Way as Standard Connectors?

The best method available for cleaning MT ferrules to remove dust and oils which reduce optical performance is the use of an advanced dry cloth cleaning system like the IBC branded cleaning tool or an NTT-AT OPTIPOP.

The cleaning method is very simple as it involves a single pass. When using the recommended cleaning system contaminants are completely removed as opposed to using low grade cloths or swabs which just move the contaminants away from the fibres but leave them on the ferrule face.

  • The IBC click cleaners and OPTIPOP family of cleaners are designed for use with both male and female connections and have options for single fibre ceramic ferrule connectors as well.
  • The OPTIPOP cassette and card cleaners allow the owner to refill the cleaning clothes which can reduce cost per cleaning below traditional cleaning methods.
Compatibility With Other MPO Connectors

MPO style connectors that are compliant to industry standards are inter-mateable with the MTP connector. This means that changing from 1 style connector to the MTP connector and getting higher levels of performance is possible.

Which Standards Relate to MPO Connectors?

MTP connector is fully compliant with – FOCIS (aka TIA-604-5) – IEC-61754-7 – CENELEC EN50377-15-1 The MTP brand connector components are fully compliant with IEC Standard 61754-7 and TIA 604-5 – Type MPO.

More Product Options
  • Terminates ribbon fiber or loose individual fibers
  • Ruggedized round cable, oval cable and bare ribbon options available
  • Compatible with US Conec MT ferrules in fiber counts 4 – 24
  • Color coded housings available to differentiate fiber type, polish type and/or connector grad
  • Housing is removable for quick change of pin clamps and easy ferrule cleaning / re-polishing
  • No-epoxy housing design
  • Family of bulkhead adapters available
Applications & Associated Standards
  • Array trunk cables / Array fiber to single fiber fanouts and cassettes
  • High fiber density card edge access / Optical switching interframe connections
  • IEC Standard 61754-7 / TIA/EIA 604-5 Type MPO Structured cabling per TIA-568-C Parallel Optics / Optical Internetworking Forum
  • (OIF) Compliant Infiniband Compliant / 10G Fiber Channel Compliant / 40G and 100G IEEE 802.3 SNAP 12 / POP 4 / QSFP

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