Attenuation

How it is used

Used in fibre and radio engineering. Engineers calculate a loss budget, measure attenuation with a light source and power meter or an OTDR, and look for high attenuation caused by dirty connectors, tight bends or bad splices.

Example sentences

1. Attenuation on the new link is 6 dB higher than expected, so check the connectors.

2. Single-mode fibre has low attenuation, which is why it works over long distances.

Common collocations

• fibre attenuation
• high attenuation
• measure attenuation
• loss budget
• attenuation per kilometre

Related terms

• fibre optic cableA cable that carries data as pulses of light through very thin strands of glass, allowing much higher speeds and much longer distances than copper.
• spliceTo join two optical fibres end to end so that light passes from one to the other with as little loss as possible, usually by melting them together with a fusion splicer.
• single-mode fibreA type of optical fibre with a very thin core, about 9 micrometres across, that carries light along a single path and can send data over many kilometres; used by operators and between buildings.
• signal strengthHow strong a received Wi-Fi or mobile signal is, usually measured in dBm; values closer to zero are stronger, so -55 dBm is better than -80 dBm.
• transceiverA small plug-in module, such as an SFP, that both sends and receives signals, usually converting electrical signals in a switch or router into light for a fibre link.

More terms: Cabling and Fibre

• Ethernet
• patch panel
• patch cable
• FTTH