Atec Agilent-81618A User Manual

Page 101

Which Cleaning Procedure should I use ?

Cleaning Information

Agilent 81618A/9A and Agilent 81622B/3B/4B/6B/7B/8B User’s Guide, Second Edition

101

How to clean instruments with a fixed
connector interface

You should only clean instruments with a fixed connector interface

when it is absolutely necessary. This is because it is difficult to remove

any used alcohol or filaments from the input of the optical block.

It is important, therefore, to keep dust caps on the equipment at all

times, except when your optical device is in use.

If you do discover filaments or particles, the only way to clean a fixed

connector interface and the input of the optical block is to use

compressed air.

If there are fluids or fat in the connector, please refer the instrument

to the skilled personnel of Agilent’s service team.

C A U T I O N

Only use clean, dry compressed air. Make sure that the air is free of

dust, water, and oil. If the air that you use is not clean and dry, this

can lead to filmy deposits or scratches on the surface of your

connector interface. This will degrade the performance of your

transmission system.

Never try to open the instrument and clean the optical block by

yourself, because it is easy to scratch optical components, and cause

them to become misaligned.

How to clean instruments with an optical
glass plate

Some instruments, for example, the optical heads from Agilent

Technologies have an optical glass plate to protect the sensor. Clean

this glass plate in the same way as optical lenses (see “How to clean

How to clean instruments with a physical
contact interface

Remove any connector interfaces from the optical output of the

instrument before you begin the cleaning procedure.

Cleaning interfaces is difficult as the core diameter of a single-mode

fiber is only about 9

µm. This generally means you cannot see streaks

or scratches on the surface. To be certain of the degree of pollution on

the surface of your interface and to check whether it has been

removed after cleaning, you need a microscope.