EN 60869-1:2000

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-februar-2001
1DGRPHãþD
SIST EN 180000:1999
Fibre optic attenuators - Part 1: Generic specification (IEC 60869-1:1999)
Fibre optic attenuators -- Part 1: Generic specification
Lichtwellenleiter Dämpfungsglieder -- Teil 1: Fachgrundspezifikation
Atténuateurs à fibres optiques -- Partie 1: Spécification générique
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN 60869-1:2000
ICS:
33.180.20 3RYH]RYDOQHQDSUDYH]D Fibre optic interconnecting
RSWLþQDYODNQD devices
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

NORME CEI
INTERNATIONALE IEC
60869-1
INTERNATIONAL
QC 800000
STANDARD
Troisième édition
Third edition
1999-11
Atténuateurs à fibres optiques –
Partie 1:
Spécification générique
Fibre optic attenuators –
Part 1:
Generic specification
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For price, see current catalogue

60869-1 © IEC:1999 – 3 –
CONTENTS
Page
FOREWORD . 7
INTRODUCTION .9
Clause
1 General. 11
1.1 Scope . 11
1.2 Normative references. 11
1.3 Definitions . 13
2 Requirements . 15
2.1 Classification . 15
2.1.1 Type . 17
2.1.2 Style . 17
2.1.3 Variant . 17
2.1.4 Environmental category. 19
2.1.5 Assessment level . 19
2.1.6 Normative reference extensions . 21
2.2 Documentation. 23
2.2.1 Symbols. 23
2.2.2 Specification system . 23
2.2.3 Drawings. 25
2.2.4 Tests and measurements . 25
2.2.5 Test data sheets . 27
2.2.6 Instructions for use . 27
2.3 Standardization system. 27
2.3.1 Interface standards . 27
2.3.2 Performance standards . 29
2.3.3 Reliability standards. 29
2.3.4 Interlinking . 31
2.4 Design and construction . 35
2.4.1 Materials. 35
2.4.2 Workmanship . 35
2.5 Quality. 35
2.6 Performance . 35
2.7 Identification and marking . 35
2.7.1 Variant identification number. 35
2.7.2 Component marking . 37
2.7.3 Package marking . 37
2.8 Packaging. 37
2.9 Storage conditions . 37
2.10 Safety . 37
3 Quality assessment procedures . 39
3.1 Primary stage of manufacture . 39
3.2 Structurally similar components . 39

60869-1 © IEC:1999 – 5 –
Clause Page
3.3 Qualification approval procedures. 39
3.3.1 Fixed sample procedure. 41
3.3.2 Lot-by-lot and periodic procedures . 41
3.3.3 Qualifying specimen. 41
3.3.4 Sample size . 41
3.3.5 Preparation of specimens. 41
3.3.6 Qualification testing . 41
3.3.7 Qualification failures . 41
3.3.8 Maintenance of qualification approval . 43
3.3.9 Qualification report. 43
3.4 Quality conformance inspection . 43
3.4.1 Lot-by-lot inspection. 43
3.4.2 Periodic inspection. 45
3.5 Certified record of released lots . 45
3.6 Delayed deliveries . 47
3.7 Delivery release before completion of group B tests. 47
3.8 Alternative test methods . 47
3.9 Unchecked parameters . 47

60869-1 © IEC:1999 – 7 –
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
––––––––––––––
FIBRE OPTIC ATTENUATORS –
Part 1: Generic specification
FOREWORD
1) The IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of the IEC is to promote
international co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To
this end and in addition to other activities, the IEC publishes International Standards. Their preparation is
entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested in the subject dealt with may
participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-governmental organizations liaising
with the IEC also participate in this preparation. The IEC collaborates closely with the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by agreement between the
two organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of the IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an
international consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation
from all interested National Committees.
3) The documents produced have the form of recommendations for international use and are published in the form
of standards, technical specifications, technical reports or guides and they are accepted by the National
Committees in that sense.
4) In order to promote international unification, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC International
Standards transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional standards. Any
divergence between the IEC Standard and the corresponding national or regional standard shall be clearly
indicated in the latter.
5) The IEC provides no marking procedure to indicate its approval and cannot be rendered responsible for any
equipment declared to be in conformity with one of its standards.
6) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this International Standard may be the subject
of patent rights. The IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
International Standard IEC 60869-1 has been prepared by subcommittee 86B: Fibre optic
interconnecting devices and passive components, of IEC technical committee 86: Fibre optics.
This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition published in 1994 and constitutes a
technical revision.
The text of this standard is based on the following documents:
FDIS Report on voting
86B/1248/FDIS 86B/1283/RVD
Full information on the voting for the approval of this standard can be found in the report on
voting indicated in the above table.
The QC number that appears on the front cover of this publication is the specification number
in the IEC Quality Assessment System for Electronic Components (IECQ).
This publication has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 3.
The committee has decided that this publication remains valid until 2008.
At this date, in accordance with the committee's decision, the publication will be
• reconfirmed;
 withdrawn;
 replaced by a revised edition, or
 amended.
60869-1 © IEC:1999 – 9 –
INTRODUCTION
This part of IEC 60869 is divided into three clauses.
Clause 1 is entitled "General" and contains general information pertaining to this generic
specification.
Clause 2 is entitled "Requirements" and contains all the requirements to be met by
attenuators covered by this standard. This includes requirements for classification, the IEC
specification system, documentation, materials, workmanship, quality, performance, identification,
and packaging.
Clause 3 is entitled "Quality assessment procedures" and contains all of the procedures which
must be followed for proper quality assessment of products covered by this standard.

60869-1 © IEC:1999 – 11 –
FIBRE OPTIC ATTENUATORS –
Part 1: Generic specification
1 General
1.1 Scope
This part of IEC 60869 applies to fibre optic attenuators. These have all of the following
general features:
– they are passive in that they contain no opto-electronic or other transducing elements;
– they have two ports for the transmission of optical power and attenuate the transmitted
power in a fixed or variable fashion;
– the ports are optical fibres or optical fibre connectors.
This standard establishes uniform requirements for the following:
– attenuator requirements;
– quality assessment procedures.
This standard does not cover test and measurement procedures, which are described in
IEC 61300-1, in the serie IEC 61300-2 and the serie 61300-3.
1.2 Normative references
The following normative documents contain provisions which, through reference in this text,
constitute provisions of this part of IEC 60869. For dated references, subsequent amendments to,
or revisions of, any of these publications do not apply. However, parties to agreements based
on this part of IEC 60869 are encouraged to investigate the possibility of applying the most
recent editions of the normative documents indicated below. For undated references, the
latest edition of the normative document referred to applies. Members of IEC and ISO
maintain registers of currently valid International Standards.
IEC QC 001001:1998, Basic rules of the IEC Quality Assessment System for Electronic Com-
ponents (IECQ)
IEC QC 001002-2:1998, Rules of Procedure of the IEC Quality Assessment System for
Electronic Components (IECQ) – Part 2: Documentation
IEC QC 001002-3:1998, Rules of procedure of the IEC Quality Assessment System for
Electronic Components (IECQ) – Part 3: Approval procedures
IEC Guide 102:1996, Electronic components – Specification structures for quality assessment
(Qualification approval and capability approval)
IEC 60027 (all parts), Letter symbols to be used in electrical technology
IEC 60050(731):1991, International Electrotechnical Vocabulary (IEV) – Chapter 731: Optical
fibre communication
IEC 60410:1973, Sampling plans and procedures for inspection by attributes
IEC 60617 (all parts), Graphical symbols for diagrams

60869-1 © IEC:1999 – 13 –
IEC 60695-2-2:1991, Fire hazard testing – Part 2: Test methods – Section 2: Needle-flame
test
IEC 60825-1:1998, Safety of laser products – Part 1: Equipment classification, requirements
and user’s guide
lSO 129:1985, Technical drawings – Dimensioning – General principles, definitions, methods
of execution and special indications
ISO 286-1:1988, ISO system of limits and fits – Part 1: Bases of tolerances, deviations and
fits
ISO 370:1975, Toleranced dimensions – Conversion from inches into millimetres and vice
versa
ISO/DIS 1101, Geometrical Product Specifications (GPS) – Geometrical tolerancing –
Generalities, definitions, symbols, indications on drawings
ISO 8601:1988, Data elements and interchange formats – Information interchange –
Representation of dates and times
1.3 Definitions
For the purpose of this part of IEC 60869, the definitions contained in IEC 60050(731) as well
as the following definitions apply.
1.3.1
attenuator
passive component which produces a controlled signal attenuation in an optical fibre
transmission line
1.3.2
fibre optic pigtail
short length of fibre, jumper or cable forming an optical port for a fibre optic component
1.3.3
port
optical fibre or optical fibre connector attached to a passive component for the entry and/or
exit of optical power
1.3.4
attenuation
reduction in optical power between an input and output port of a passive component,
expressed in decibel; it is defined as follows:
a = –10 log (P /P )
1 0
where P is the optical power launched into the input port, and P the power received from the
0 1
output port
1.3.5
attenuation value
term synonymous with insertion loss when applied to attenuators
1.3.6
minimum attenuation
term applicable only to variable attenuators; it is the lowest attenuation to which the device
may be adjusted
60869-1 © IEC:1999 – 15 –
1.3.7
incremental attenuation
term applicable only to variable attenuators; it refers to the difference between the attenuation
of the device at a given setting and the minimum attenuation
1.3.8
return loss
fraction of input power that is returned from the port of a passive component; it is defined as
follows:
RL = –10 log (P /P )
1 0
where P is the optical power launched into the port, and P the optical power received back
0 1
from the same port
1.3.9
operating wavelength
nominal wavelength λ at which a passive component is designed to operate with the specified
performance
1.3.10
operating wavelength range – bandpass
specified range of wavelengths from λ to λ about a nominal operating wavelength λ ,
i min i max i
within which a passive component is designed to operate with the specified performance
2 Requirements
The requirements for attenuators covered by this clause are intended to aid in classifying an
attenuator in a detail specification.
2.1 Classification
Attenuators are classified by the following categories:
– type;
– style;
– variant;
– environmental category;
– assessment level;
– normative reference extensions.
An example of a typical attenuator classification is as follows:
Type: – continuously variable
Style: – configuration
– IEC type A1a fibre
– F-SMA connector
Variant: – means of mounting
Assessment level: – A
60869-1 © IEC:1999 – 17 –
2.1.1 Type
Attenuator types are defined by their intended function. There are three types of attenuators:
– fixed;
– continuously variable;
– discrete step variable.
2.1.2 Style
Attenuators may be classified into styles based upon fibre type, connector type, cable type,
housing shape and dimensions and configuration.
The configuration of the attenuator ports is classified as follows:
– Configuration A – A device containing integral fibre optic pigtails without connectors.
Attenuator
dB
IEC  1517/99
– Configuration B – A device containing integral fibre optic pigtails, with a connector on each
pigtail.
Attenuator
dB
IEC  1518/99
– Configuration C – A device containing fibre optic connectors as an integral part of the
device housing.
Attenuator
dB
IEC  1519/99
– Configuration D – A device containing some combination of the interfacing features of the
preceding configurations.
2.1.3 Variant
The attenuator variant identifies those features which encompass structurally similar
components (see 3.2).
Examples of features which define a variant include, but are not limited to the following:
– orientation of ports on housing;
– means for mounting.
60869-1 © IEC:1999 – 19 –
2.1.4 Environmental category
Various environmental categories are given in the blank detail specifications associated with
this standard; these define the test sequences needed for quality assurance.
Detail specification writers may add tests and/or groups of tests to a particular environmental
category.
However, the detail specification writer shall not remove tests nor alter the sequence of an
environmental category standard.
When a detail specification writer adds tests to a specified category, the environmental
category shall be given a plus (+) designation.
EXAMPLE:
– environmental category ii +
– environmental category v +
2.1.5 Assessment level
The detail specification shall include all required tests for quality assessment.
Each test shall be assigned to one of four groups labeled A, B, C and D.
The detail specification shall specify one or more assessment levels, each of which shall be
designated by a capital letter. The assessment level defines the relationship between the
inspection levels/AQL's of groups A and B and the inspection periods of groups C and D.
The following are preferred levels:
– assessment level A
 group A inspection: inspection level II, AQL = 4 %
 group B inspection: inspection level II, AQL = 4 %
 group C inspection: 24-month periods
 group D inspection: 48-month periods
– assessment level B
 group A inspection: inspection level II, AQL = 1 %
 group B inspection: inspection level II, AQL = 1 %
 group C inspection: 18-month periods
 group D inspection: 36-month periods
– assessment level C
 group A inspection: inspection level II, AQL = 0,4 %
 group B inspection: inspection level II, AQL = 0,4 %
 group C inspection: 12-month periods
 group D inspection: 24-month periods

60869-1 © IEC:1999 – 21 –
Groups A and B are subject to lot-by-lot inspection, groups C and D are subject to periodic
inspection (see 3.4). One additional assessment level (other than those specified above) may
be added in the detail specification. In this case, it shall be designated by the capital letter X.
NOTE – AQL = Acceptable Quality Level
2.1.6 Normative reference extensions
Normative reference extensions are used to identify integrated independent standards
specifications or other reference documents into blank detail specifications.
Unless specified exception is noted, additional requirements imposed by an extension are
mandatory. Usage is primarily intended to merge associated components to form hybrid
devices, or integrated functional application requirements that are dependent on technical
expertise other than fibre optics.
Published reference documents produced by ITU, consistent with the scope statements of the
relevant IEC specification series, may be used as extension. Published documents produced
by other regional standardization bodies such as TIA, ETSI, JIS, etc. may be referenced in an
informative annex attached to the generic specification.
Some optical fibre splice configurations require special qualification provisions which shall not
be imposed universally. This accommodates individual component design configurations,
specialised field tooling, or specific application processes. In this case requirements are
necessary to assure repeatable performance or adequate safety, and provide additional
guidance for complete product specification. These extensions are mandatory whenever used
to prepare, assemble or install an optical fibre splice either for field application usage or
preparation of qualification test specimens. The relevant specification shall clarify all
stipulations. However, design and style dependent extensions shall not be imposed
universally.
In the event of conflicting requirements, precedence, in descending order, shall be "generic"
over "mandatory extension", over "blank detail", over "detail", over "application specific
extension".
Examples of optical connector extensions are given as follows:
– using IEC 61754-4 and IEC 61754-2 to partially define a future IEC 60874-XX specification
for a duplex type "SC/BFOC/2,5" hybrid connector adapter;
– using IEC 61754-13 and IEC 60869-1-1 to partially define a future IEC 60874-XX
specification for an integrated type "FC" preset attenuated optical connector;
– using IEC 61754-2 and IEC 61073-4 to partially define a future IEC 60874-XX specification
for a duplex "BFOC/2,5" receptacle incorporating integral mechanical splices.
Other examples of requirement to normative extensions are the following: some commercial
or residential building applications may require direct reference to specific safety codes and
regulations or incorporate other specific material flammability or toxicity requirements for
specialised locations.
60869-1 © IEC:1999 – 23 –
Specialised field tooling may require an extension to implement specific ocular safety,
electrical shock, burn hazard avoidance requirements, or require isolation procedures to
prevent potential ignition of combustible gases.
2.2 Documentation
2.2.1 Symbols
Graphical and letter symbols shall, whenever possible, be taken from the series IEC 60027
and the series IEC 60617 unless superseded by this part of IEC 60869.
2.2.2 Specification system
This specification forms part of a three-level IEC specification system. Subsidiary
specifications shall consist of blank detail specifications and detail specifications. This system
is shown in Table 1. There are no sectional specifications for attenuators.
Table 1 – Three-level IEC specification structure
Specification Examples of information Applicable to
level to be included
– Assessment system rules
– Inspection rules
– Optical measurement methods
– Sampling plans
– Identification rule
Two or more component
– Marking standards
Basic
families or subfamilies
– Dimensional standards
– Terminology
– Symbols
– Preferred number series
– SI units
– Specific terminology
– Specific symbols
– Specific units
– Preferred values
Generic – Marking Component family
– Quality assessment procedures
– Selection of tests
– Qualification approval and/or capability approval
procedures
– Quality conformance test schedule
Groups of types having
Blank detail – Inspection requirements
a common test schedule
– Information common to a number of types
– Individual values
Detail – Specific information Individual type
– Completed quality conformance test schedules
2.2.2.1 Blank detail specification
The blank detail specification lists all the parameters and features applicable to an attenuator
including the type, operating characteristics, housing configurations, test methods and
performance requirements. The blank detail specification is applicable to any attenuator
design and quality assessment requirement. The blank detail specification contains the
preferred format for stating
...