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Everything You Need to Know About SC APC Fiber Optic Cables

VincentUpdated at Jan 13th 20251 min read

In optical networks, the quality of fiber optic cables plays a key role in performance. SC APC fiber optic cables are designed to reduce signal loss and reflection, ensuring reliable data transmission. This makes them ideal for high-demand environments like telecommunications and data centers. This guide will introduce SC APC cables and explain their features, benefits, common applications, etc.
What is an SC/APC Fiber Optic Cable?
SC/APC fiber optic cables are fiber patch cables featuring SC (Subscriber Connector or Standard Connector) connectors with APC (Angled Physical Contact) polishing. They are often used in environments with critical low back reflection, such as telecommunications and data center applications. They're especially useful for single mode fiber applications involving longer distances and higher data rates, as well as their ability to resist electromagnetic interference.
Get to Know SC Connector
The SC fiber optic connector, or the "Square Connector," was the first to be included in the TIA-568 standard. Its square-shaped body and snap-in, push-pull latch design make it easy to use. With a 2.5mm ferrule, it provides low insertion loss and stable performance. Even after multiple plug-ins and unplugging, the cable maintains consistent quality. This makes the SC connector ideal for telecom and datacom applications, such as point-to-point connections and passive optical networks. It is also widely used in polarization-maintaining systems.
What does APC stand for?
In the context of fiber optics, "APC" stands for Angled Physical Contact. This polishing method involves an 8-degree angle on the fiber's end face, which helps minimize back reflections by directing excess light into the cladding instead of reflecting it back into the core. By reducing these reflections, APC connectors significantly lower optical return loss (ORL), which is crucial for maintaining high-quality signals in applications like video and data transmission.
Benefits of SC APC Fiber Optic Cables
Exceptional Return Loss: SC APC fiber optic cables typically achieve return loss values greater than 60 dB, surpassing UPC cables, which average around 50 dB. This superior performance reduces signal interference, making these cables ideal for high-precision networks.
Low Insertion Loss: With insertion loss values typically between 0.2 and 0.3 dB, SC APC cables minimize signal loss, ensuring efficient transmission and maintaining signal quality over long distances.
Reliable Connections: The SC connector's simple snap-in, push-pull latch design ensures a stable and consistent connection, and the APC polish enhances this by improving contact between the fiber surfaces, reducing the risk of performance degradation over time.
Applications of SC APC Fiber Optic Cables
SC APC fiber optic cables offer high performance and reliability, making them ideal for various critical applications in fiber optic communication. Their design minimizes signal loss and back reflection, which helps maintain signal integrity over long distances. Here are some key areas where SC APC cables are commonly used.
Data Center Networks
SC APC fiber optic cables are used in data centers to ensure stable, high-speed network connections in environments with dense fiber cabling. Their design helps prevent signal degradation, essential for high-demand applications such as cloud computing, storage systems, and virtualized services. SC APC cables also help maintain performance and reliability in large-scale data networks, supporting local and long-distance communication. Additionally, SC APC fiber optic cables can pair well with fiber optic panels or fiber enclosures to optimize fiber management, improving organization and simplifying network infrastructure.
Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM)
In DWDM systems, multiple wavelengths of light are transmitted simultaneously over a single fiber, and even small amounts of back reflection can cause signal interference and data loss. The low back reflections of APC connectors help reduce signal degradation, ensuring the integrity of each wavelength channel. This makes SC APC fiber optic cables crucial for maintaining high-performance communication in DWDM systems, supporting efficient data transmission over long distances while preserving signal quality.
Comparing SC APC and LC APC Fiber Optic Cables
SC APC fiber optic cables and LC APC fiber optic cables differ primarily in their connectors. SC connectors have dominated the market for many years, while newer options like the LC connector have recently gained popularity. Both connectors serve important roles in fiber optic networks but differ in design and application. Let's explore the differences between SC APC and LC APC connectors and how each serves its purpose.
Size
: SC APC connectors are larger and feature a 2.5mm ferrule, which makes them suitable for low-density fiber optic networks. In contrast, LC APC connectors are more compact, with a 1.25mm ferrule—half the size of the SC connector. Because of their size, LC connectors are more commonly used in areas with many fiber optic cables, allowing for more efficient use of space.
Design
: SC APC connectors use a straightforward push-pull latch mechanism that ensures strong and stable connections, making them easy to use and reliable. In contrast, LC APC connectors feature a compact snap-in design, which saves space while maintaining secure connections, making them ideal for high-density network environments.
Application
: SC APC connectors work with GBIC, X2, and XENPAK transceivers, making them ideal for FTTH, telecom, and long-distance transmission. LC APC connectors, compatible with SFP, SFP+, and XFP transceivers, are better for data centers and high-density cabling due to their smaller size and space-saving design.
Conclusion
SC APC fiber optic cables deliver exceptional return loss, low insertion loss, and reliable connections, making them ideal for data centers, DWDM systems, and high-precision networks. Their ability to ensure stable, high-quality data transmission over long distances makes them a top choice for optimizing network performance. FS offers a wide range of high-performance fiber patch cables to help elevate your network performance—welcome to explore our solutions!