In a PLC (Planar Lightwave Circuit) splitter, each port incurs a typical insertion loss depending on the split ratio. For example, an ideal 1x2 splitter has around 3.5 dB loss per port, while a 1x4 splitter has about 7 dB, and a 1x8 splitter has around 10.5 dB per port. Real-world losses may vary slightly due to manufacturing and connector quality, but these values provide a general reference for typical PLC splitter loss per port.

A fiber optic cable splitter, particularly a PLC (Planar Lightwave Circuit) splitter, works by dividing a single optical signal into multiple outputs, or combining multiple signals into one. Inside the splitter, light entering from the fiber core is guided through waveguides, which split it evenly across multiple output fibers. This splitting process distributes signal power across each output port, creating uniform signal strength but resulting in some insertion loss per output. PLC splitters are highly reliable for passive optical networks (PON), where they allow one fiber to serve many endpoints without active power.

A fiber optic splitter divides a single optical signal into multiple outputs using internal waveguides. The incoming light is split evenly across output fibers, sharing signal power among them. PLC splitters enable one fiber to connect to multiple endpoints in networks, though each output has some signal loss.