Fiber Optic Patch Cords and Pigtails

Berkshire Photonics’ main business is building specialty fiber patch cords and pigtails to customer specifications.

Pigtails are lengths of fiber or cable with a connector terminated on one end. Patch cords, also known as “jumpers”, are lengths of fiber or cable with connectors on both ends. Patch cords are also referred to in the industry as “assemblies”.

Pigtails are commonly supplied to users who attach them to active components like semiconductor laser, LED or photodetector modules. Or they might be fusion-spliced to another length of fiber that is then connected to a component.

Patch cords, generally, are used to connect two devices together.

There are hundreds, maybe thousands of companies that manufacture telecom-grade patch cords and pigtails. Optical fibers for use in datacom and telecom are well-defined and internationally standardized; their physical, mechanical, and optical properties are well-defined and tightly-specified to ensure the interoperability of products from different manufacturers.

Berkshire Photonics focuses on “specialty fiber”, which can be loosely defined as “…any fiber type not commonly used in datacom or telecom”.

“Specialty fibers” are often unique to specific manufacturers; there is much less commonality between products from different sources, and with an endless range of core diameters, glass composition, core/cladding configurations, protective coatings, numerical apertures, index profiles, transmission wavelengths, the number of variables is limitless.

That’s why customers turn to Berkshire Photonics. We are Specialty Fiber Experts. There may be fiber types out there that we haven’t seen or have never worked with, but chances are we have worked with something similar. We will make specialty fiber pigtails and patch cords to your exact specifications.

As with fiber, the connectors used in datacom/telecom are also well-defined and universally standardized to ensure interoperability between products from different vendors. The staff at Berkshire Photonics is well-versed with standard telecom connectors like the SC, LC, ST and FC types, but in the realm of specialty optical fiber, the most commonly-used connector type is also one of the oldest surviving designs in the industry: The SMA.

Developed by Amphenol in the late 1970s and based on a long-established RF connector dubbed the “sub-miniature A”  (“SMA”), the optical version of the SMA, even after 45 years, is still highly regarded for its simplicity, durability and versatility.

Berkshire Photonics as long and deep association with SMA connectors. We terminate more patch cords and pigtails with SMA connectors than with any other type. And we know all their capabilities and limitations. If you’re working with specialty fibers, chances are you’ll require assemblies with SMA connectors. So you’ll want to work with the Specialty Fiber Experts.

Berkshire Photonics has a modern, well-equipped, well-stocked and expertly-staffed production facility that can quickly evaluate and respond to requests for custom specialty fiber assemblies.

Call us, and tell us what you’re looking for. Chances are we can come up with a solution.