An Atteneutor

An ATTENUATOR is a device that is used to reduce signal amplitude by a known amount without introducing distortion. Attenuators are installed in fiber optic systems to keep the power level within the limits of the receiver’s detector. When optical power is too great at the receiver, the signal can saturate the detector resulting in a non-communicating port. Attenuators act like sunglasses and block some of the signal to acceptable levels. Attenuators are available in various styles with either fixed or variable attenuation levels.