Couplers

Couplers are devices that join two systems to transfer energy or signals, often while shaping, splitting, or isolating the flow between them. They are employed in many fields to enable communication, transmission, or measurement without forcing a direct single-piece connection.

Mechanical couplers connect rotating shafts to transmit torque and accommodate misalignment or end-play. Common types include rigid couplings, flexible or damped couplings, and gear or bellows couplings. They are chosen for stiffness, misalignment tolerance, damping, and torque capacity, and they help protect components from vibration and stress.

Electrical and electronic couplers transfer electrical energy between circuits without direct conduction or with controlled coupling. Capacitive, inductive, and transformer-based couplers provide AC coupling, impedance matching, and isolation where needed. In radio frequency and microwave engineering, directional couplers, hybrid (quadrature) couplers, and power dividers split or combine signals with specified amplitude and phase relationships, often for measurement, signal routing, or feedback.

Optical couplers join or split light in fiber-optic networks. Fiber optic couplers—such as 1x2, 2x2, and multimode variants—control coupling ratios, insertion loss, and polarization-dependent loss. They enable signal distribution in passive optical networks, wavelength-division multiplexing systems, and sensor networks, and they are essential components in many fiber-based devices.

Other forms include pneumatic or hydraulic couplers that connect hoses or tubes, and connectors used in test equipment and instrumentation to link sources and measurement devices. Across all types, key performance factors include coupling ratio or torque transmission, isolation, insertion or return loss, and compatibility with the medium’s impedance or physical form.