What is the purpose of a fibre optic splitter?
One easily finds purely optical devices which split a given fibre like this:
X
|
+-+++-+
| | | |
A B C D number of outputs from 2 to 32 or more
My understanding is that light entering at X exits at A to D, at one quarter of the power out of each. Conversely, light entering at A exits only at X, also at a quarter of the input power.
They are advertised, as an example, "1x4 PLC Splitter, Mini Plug-in Type, SMF, SC/APC. Mounted in the wall mount FTTH box for fiber optic signal distribution." They vary in number of splits, mounting, connectors, single- and multi-mode, and their various technologies for implementation. Some have uneven power splits, presumably for uneven lengths or further splitting.
- What kind of equipment is at each end of this?
- What kind of framing would be typical?
- Do I understand the optics correctly?