Contribution of butt-joint connectors and lens connectors to the radiation induced loss of optical fibre cables at 1300 nm wavelength

Connectors may remarkably contribute to the radiation induced loss of optical fibre cables when, e.g., the fibres are fixed with thicker layers of epoxy resin (radiation induced swelling) or when the glass of lens connectors is of poor quality. We have tested a variety of different butt-joint as well as lens connector pairs.