What are fibre optic pigtails?

Fibre optic pigtails are a common solution for fibre cable termination. Fibre cable termination refers to terminating connectors to individual optical fibres within a cable. The fibres require connectors to be attached before they can connect to other equipment. In this post, we will take a detailed look at fibre optic pigtails.

A fibre optic pigtail is a short, single fibre optical cable that contains a factory-installed optical connector on one end. The end of the pigtail is fusion spliced to a single fibre contained within the multi-fibre cable. The individual fibres of the multi-fibre cable are used to connect to the end equipment.

Fibre optic pigtails are commonly found in fibre optic management equipment, such as distribution boxes, fibre terminal boxes, and all other fibre enclosure products. Pigtails are popular across both single-mode and multimode applications.

There are various types of fibre optic pigtails available in the market, and each has a specific application. Fibre pigtails are classified according to their fibre grade and connector type.

There are two types of pigtails available: single-mode fibre pigtails and multimode fibre pigtails. Single-mode fibre pigtails use single-mode 9/125 micron fibre cables and Multimode fibre pigtails use 50/125 micron or 62.5/125 micron fibre cables. They can be further classified based on their optical properties. Pigtails can be classified as OM1 fibre, OM2 fibre, OM3 fibre, and OM4 fibre.

Fibre optic pigtails can also be classified by the connector type. Common connector types include SC, SCA, LC, LCA, ST, and more. They all have their own particular applications and advantages.

• MSSDATA MTP Cassette Singlemode OS2 LCx24 to MTP 2x12 Item Number: MTPCASOS2-LC-2X12 Packaging Unit: 1 / each $515.38 (Excl. GST) View Product
• MSSDATA MSS Fibre OM4 50um 6-Fibre SC 900um Pigtails - 6 Pack Item Number: PSC2M/900-MM4-C6 Packaging Unit: 1 / each $49.00 (Excl. GST) View Product
• MSSDATA MSS Fibre SM 9um 12-Fibre ST 900um Pigtails - 12 Pack Item Number: PST2M/900-SMC12 Packaging Unit: 1 / each $67.38 (Excl. GST) View Product
• MSSDATA MSS Fibre SM 9um 12-Fibre SCA 900um Pigtails - 12 Pack Item Number: PSCA2M/900-SMC12 Packaging Unit: 1 / each $73.51 (Excl. GST) View Product
• MSSDATA MSS Fibre SM 9um 6-Fibre SCA 900um Pigtails - 6 Pack Item Number: PSCA2M/900-SM6 Packaging Unit: 1 / each $36.75 (Excl. GST) View Product
• MSSDATA MSS Fibre SM 9um 12-Fibre SC 900um Pigtails - 12 Pack Item Number: PSC2M/900-SMC12 Packaging Unit: 1 / each $67.38 (Excl. GST) View Product
• MSSDATA MSS Fibre OM3 50um 12-Fibre SC 900um Pigtails - 12 Pack Item Number: PSC2M/900-MM3-C12 Packaging Unit: 1 / each $73.51 (Excl. GST) View Product
• MSSDATA MSS Fibre OM1 62.5um 12-Fibre ST 900um Pigtails - 12 Pack Item Number: PST2M/900-MMC12 Packaging Unit: 1 / each $67.38 (Excl. GST) View Product
• MSSDATA MSS Fibre SM 9um 6-Fibre SC 900um Pigtails - 6 Pack Item Number: PSC2M/900-SMC6 Packaging Unit: 1 / each $36.75 (Excl. GST) View Product
• MSSDATA MSS Fibre OM3 50um 12-Fibre ST 900um Pigtails - 12 Pack Item Number: PST2M/900-MM3-C12 Packaging Unit: 1 / each $73.51 (Excl. GST) View Product
• MSSDATA MSS Fibre OM1 62.5um 12-Fibre SC 900um Pigtails - 12 Pack Item Number: PSC2M/900-MMC12 Packaging Unit: 1 / each $67.38 (Excl. GST) View Product
• MSSDATA MSS Fibre OM4 50um 12-Fibre SC 900um Pigtails - 12 Pack Item Number: PSC2M/900-MM4-C12 Packaging Unit: 1 / each $91.88 (Excl. GST) View Product
• MSSDATA MSS Fibre OM1 62.5um 6-Fibre SC 900um Pigtails - 6 Pack Item Number: PSC2M/900-MMC6 Packaging Unit: 1 / each $36.75 (Excl. GST) View Product
• MSSDATA MSS Fibre OM3 50um 6-Fibre SC 900um Pigtails - 6 Pack Item Number: PSC2M/900-MM3-C6 Packaging Unit: 1 / each $42.88 (Excl. GST) View Product
• MSSDATA MSS Fibre SM 9um 12-Fibre LCA 900um Pigtails - 12 Pack Item Number: PLCA2M/900-SMC12 Packaging Unit: 1 / each $111.91 (Excl. GST) View Product
• MSSDATA MSS Fibre OM4 50um 6-Fibre LC 900um Pigtails - 6 Pack Item Number: PLC2M/900-MM4-C6 Packaging Unit: 1 / each $51.30 (Excl. GST) View Product
• MSSDATA MSS Fibre OM1 62.5um 6-Fibre LC 900um Pigtails - 6 Pack Item Number: PLC2M/900-MMC6 Packaging Unit: 1 / each $37.05 (Excl. GST) View Product
• MSSDATA MSS Fibre OM3 50um 6-Fibre LC 900um Pigtails - 6 Pack Item Number: PLC2M/900-MM3-C6 Packaging Unit: 1 / each $41.80 (Excl. GST) View Product
• MSSDATA MSS Fibre OM1 62.5um 12-Fibre LC 900um Pigtails - 12 Pack Item Number: PLC2M/900-MMC12 Packaging Unit: 1 / each $68.40 (Excl. GST) View Product
• MSSDATA MSS Fibre SM 9um 6-Fibre LC 900um Pigtails Colour Coded - 6 Pack Item Number: PLC2M/900-SMC6 Packaging Unit: 1 / each $37.81 (Excl. GST) View Product

Based on the application environment, you may need a pigtail with added features. There are special pigtails made to undergo harsh and extreme weather conditions and therefore have extra protection. These include waterproof fibre optic pigtails and armoured fibre optic pigtails.
 
Fibre optic pigtails can also be classified by fibre count. Pigtails will typically have a fibre count of 1, 2, 6, 12 or 24 strands. While the simplex fibre optic pigtail has one fibre count and one connector at the end, the duplex fibre optic pigtail has a fibre count of two and hence has two connectors at one end, and so on.