1x16F MPO-2x8F MPO Conversion Cable
The 1x16F MPO to 2x8F MPO Conversion Cable (also known as a breakout / fan-out cable) is a fully passive, protocol-transparent assembly terminated with one 16-fiber MPO connector at one end and two 8-fiber MPO connectors at the other. It converts a single MPO-16 port into two MPO-8 ports (or vice versa), allowing 16-fiber parallel optics to interconnect with two 8-fiber parallel optics through one direct cable run — no splicing and no intermediate patch panel required. MTP®-compatible (MTP is a registered trademark of US Conec).
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Description
1. Design Principle
1.1 Passive Fan-out Construction
The 16 fibers of the trunk are divided into two groups of eight; each group is terminated in its own MPO-8 connector. The cable is fully passive and bidirectional — it passes light identically in either direction, with no electronics and no protocol dependency.
1.2 Fiber Mapping
Standard fiber mapping: trunk fibers 1–8 connect to Leg A (Pins 1–8); trunk fibers 9–16 connect to Leg B (Pins 1–8). Sequential mapping is standard; interleaved / alternate mapping is available on request.
1.3 Interface Compatibility
The MPO-16 ferrule holds 16 fibers in two rows of eight, matching the 16-lane parallel-optics architecture defined in IEEE 802.3df-2024 (800GBASE-SR8 / DR8), which makes MPO-16 the standard 800G interface. Factory-integrated fan-out with reinforced boots protects the fiber transition points from strain and bending.
Fig. 1 Design principle — passive fan-out from one MPO-16 port to two MPO-8 ports (schematic, not to scale)
2. Polarity
Due to the complexity and variability of polarity, the fiber routing and polarity of this cable are ultimately designed according to the customer’s requirements.
Polarity Option 1
3. Technical Specifications
Table 1 Technical specifications
| Parameter | Specification |
| Connector — End A | 1x MPO-16 / MPO-16 APC (female or male) |
| Connector — End B | 2x MPO-8 / MPO-8 APC (female or male); 2x MPO-12 (8 fibers populated) pin-out-compatible on request |
| Fiber Type | OM3 / OM4 / OM5 (multimode); OS2 (singlemode), bend-insensitive G.657.A2 optional |
| Polish | MM: PC;
SM: APC (8° angled) |
| Insertion Loss (mated pair) | SM Standard loss:≤0.75dB(max), ≤0.35dB(Typical)
SM Super Low loss:≤0.35dB(max), ≤0.20dB(Typical) MM Standard loss:≤0.6dB(max), ≤0.35(Typical) MM Super Low loss:≤0.35dB(max) , ≤0.20dB(Typical) |
| Return Loss | SM ≥ 60 dB (APC);
MM ≥ 20 dB (PC) |
| Cable Construction | Fan-out sub-units 2.0 mm; trunk 3.0–4.5 mm; jacket LSZH / OFNP / OFNR |
| Length | Custom, 0.5–100 m |
| Bend Radius | ≥ 10 × cable OD (dynamic) |
| Tensile Load (installation) | ≤ 100 N |
| Operating Temperature | −20 °C to +70 °C; storage −40 °C to +85 °C |
| Durability | ≥ 500 mating cycles |
Note: loss values are typical design targets; final values per production test report.
4. Material’s details
MPO Connector Types
| Connector | Fiber Channel |
 |
 |
| MPO Female Connectors | 16 Fibers |
| Note: Female connector need to connect with male connector type. | |
| Connector | Fiber Channel |
 |
 |
| MPO Female Connectors | 8 Fibers |
| Note: Female connector need to connect with male connector type. | |
5. Cable Parameters-16F Microfiber cable
| Fiber Count | OD(mm) | Minimum allowable
Tensile Strength (N) |
minimum allowable
Crush Load(N/100mm) |
Minimum Bending
Radius(MM) |
| 16 | 3.0±0.15 | Short-term: 150；
Long-term: 80 |
Short-term: 500；
Long-term: 150 |
Static：10D
Dynamic：20D |
6. Standards & Compliance
Table 2 Standards and compliance
| Category | Standard |
| Connector Interface | IEC 61754-7; TIA-604-5 (FOCIS-5) |
| Cabling & Polarity | TIA-568.3-D |
| Performance Grades | IEC 61753-021-2 (Grade B / C); Telcordia GR-326 |
| Application (800G) | IEEE 802.3df-2024 |
| End-Face Inspection | IEC 61300-3-35 |
| Environmental / Chemical | RoHS 2011/65/EU; REACH (EC) 1907/2006 |
| Fire Safety (EU permanent installation) | CPR EN 50575 / EN 13501-6 |
| Quality System | ISO 9001:2015 |
7. Length Tolerance
| Overall Length(L)(m) | length of tolerance(cm) |
| 0<L<1 | +5/-0 |
| 1<L<10 | +10/-0 |
| 10<L<40 | +15/-0 |
| 40<L | +0.5% x L/-0 |
8. Quality Assurance & Testing
100% factory inspection: fiber count and continuity, insertion loss, return loss, polarity, end-face geometry and cleanliness per IEC 61300-3-35. Each cable ships with an individual test report and a polarity diagram.
Application
- 800G → 2×400G breakout: 800GBASE-SR8 / DR8 to 2× 400GBASE-SR4 / DR4 optics — the standard way to fan one 800G port into two 400G ports.
- 400G SR8 → 2× 200G SR4 fan-out.
- AI / ML and HPC clusters: GPU-to-switch fan-out, leaf–spine high-density cabling.
- Base-16 → base-8 conversion in structured cabling: 16-fiber trunk infrastructure connecting to devices with 8-fiber MPO interfaces.
- Data-center moves, adds and changes (MACs) without rewiring trunk infrastructure.
