A short length of Fiber attached to a fiber optic component such as a Laser or coupler.

A Pigtail may also be defined as:

A short length of Optical Fiber that is permanently affixed to an active device, e.g, LED or laser diode, and is used to couple the device, using a Splice or connector, to a longer fiber. 2 . A short length of single-fiber cable, usually tight-buffered, that has an optical Connector on one end and a length of exposed fiber at the other end. Note: The exposed fiber of the pigtail is then spliced to one fiber of a multifiber trunk, i.e., arterial, cable, to enable the multifiber Cable to be “broken out” into individual single-fiber Cables that may be connected to a Patch Panel or an input or output Port of an Optical Receiver or transmitter.

Pigtails can be supplied with all standard connector types and in different lengths.