EuroWire July 2020

Technical Article

The design and application of radio frequency identifiable optical cable By Ji Li , Zexing Jiang , Shan Jiang , Yifan Ding and Dongxue Wang, Hengtong Optic-Electric Co, Ltd, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China

Abstract In view of the problems of uneven printing and easy abrasion of traditional optical cables for communication, Hengtong has developed a radio frequency identifiable (RFID) optical cable and its application solution. A radio frequency identification tool handheld terminal is used to scan the RFID optical cable. The information stored on the data platform can be obtained in real time and matched with the number of the “electronic tag” radio frequency chip, which is more convenient for the identification and maintenance of the optical cable. This paper introduces the structure design and application of the RFID optical cable, which changes the traditional way of optical cable printing, and realises the identification, digitalisation and information operation. It forms a complete process of recording and maintenance of optical cable information, and provides a technical means for information management of optical cables. 1 Introduction Optical cable printing is an important process in optical cable production, which records the most basic information of the optical cable. According to communication industry standard YD/T 901-2018 – Stranded gel-filled loose tube optical fibre cables for outdoor application for telecommunication – optical cables should be permanently marked along the length direction on the surface of the optical cable sheath, and the marking should not affect any performance of the optic cables. Markings should have at least the content of the optical cable type, metre length,

manufacturer (or code) and/or trademarks, year of manufacture or production batch number and so on. According to the specific requirements from different customers, the contents can change. For optical cable manufacturers, optical cable printing helps manufacturers with production control and quality management, which is conducive to product traceability. For optical cable buyers, optical cable printing helps to distinguish and identify, and make it easy to install and maintain. At present, the common methods of optical cable printing are jet printing, hot embossing and relief printing. 2.1 Inkjet printing Inkjet printing is the most common printing method at present. The working principle of the inkjet printer is to edit the content to be printed by the host. Each character in the printing information is composed into a dot matrix containing ink, and the voltage automatically distributes particles with different proportions of ink, charged according to the position of each dot matrix. Then, ink particles get through electrostatic field deviation, and are adsorbed on the surface of the cable, forming printing information. A commonly used inkjet printer and optical cable inkjet printing are shown in Figures 1 and 2 . The advantages of inkjet printing are low cost, high speed, easy cleaning of the ink by organic solvents, and easiness of adjusting the printing content and font size. 2 Optical cable printing method introduction

▲ ▲ Figure 1 : Markem Imaje model 9040 continuous inkjet printer

▲ ▲ Figure 2 : Optical cable inkjet printing

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July 2020