MPO/MTP Specification

MTP/MPO Connector Overview

In fiber optic systems, LC, SC and MPO optical fiber connectors are often used.

• SC (square connector) connectors have a push-pull coupling end face with a spring-loaded ceramic ferrule, and is ideal in data center applications.
• LC (Lucent connector) connectors – also push-pull connectors – came along after SC connectors, and feature a smaller ferrule (for this reason, it’s known as a “small form-factor connector”). Its smaller size makes it ideal for dense data center racks and panels.
• MPO connectors are used for ribbon cables with anywhere from 8 to 32 fibers now.

LC Duplex is an optical fiber connector with a pair of MMF or singlemode fiber (SMF) that transmits the data in two opposite directions, one in each fiber. It can be used for single-lane transceivers, such as 10G or 25G SFP, or used for wavelength multiplexing, such as CWDM4, SWDM4 or BiDi, in the same fiber pair.

MPO arrayed connectors support parallel fiber connectivity for MMF and SMF types. A typical use case for MMF MPO-12 (eight fibers) is the 40GBASE-SR4 and 100GBASE-SR4 transceiver, with four fibers as Tx (transmit) and the other four fibers as Rx (receive).  

High-density fiber count MPO-16, MPO-24 and MPO-32 connectors have also been developed to support permanent trunk cabling and transceivers like 100GBASE-SR10 (20 fibers) and 400GBASE-SR16 (32 fibers).

MTP/MPO cables are well-received for high-density cabling in data centers, as they are capable of accommodating multi fibers within a single interface, which largely increases network capacity, saves much space and offers ease of cable management. With a variety of MTP/MPO cables available in terms of cable function, polarity, fiber count, fiber mode and jacket rating, it would be better to consider specific needs when choosing suitable MTP/MPO cable solutions.

HeyOptics use MPO/MTP connectors which is from Senko/Nissin/Sumitomo and USConnec and our MTP/MPO fiber cables use connector housing color for better identification, such as Green (for SMF standard loss) Yellow (for SMF Super Low loss), Beige (for MMF OM1/OM2) and Aqua (for OM3 Fiber) and Magenta (for OM4 Fiber). 

MTP/MPO Fiber Adapter and Polarity

MPO / MTP adapters contain an asymmetrical housing including an inverted key to achieve the appropriate fiber polarity. 

On Type A adapters, the keys are inverted to ensure that the fiber at position 1 is connected to position 1 in the MPO / MTP® cable connector at the opposing end (in case of 12 fiber connectors).

On Type B adapters both keys are oriented facing up in order that both MPO / MTP® cable connectors are mated “key up” wise. The fiber at position 1 is connected to position 12 in the MPO / MTP® connector at the opposing end.

MTP/MPO Fiber Cables Polarity

There are three polarity standards defined by TIA 568 (Telecommunications Industry Association) for 12 Fiber MPO/MTP cables, these are Type A (known as a Straight Through cable), Type B (known as a Cross cable), and Type C  (known as a Cross Pair cable)

MPO/MTP-12 Polarity

MPO/MTP-24 Polarity

24 Fibers Polarity Type A Straight Thrugh

24 Fibers Polarity Type B  Cross (100GBASE-SR10 CFP/CXP transceivers)

MPO/MTP-16 & MPO/MTP-32 Polarity

16 Fibers MPO/MTP-16 Polarity Type-A Straight Through

32 Fibers MPO/MTP-32 Polarity Type-A Straight Through

MPO/MTP End-Face 3D Interference Index

12F MPO/MTP Optical Specifications

24F to 144F Micro-fiber Optical Specifications