Unlike active devices (which require power), splitters operate without electricity, relying solely on the physics of light to distribute signals—a feature that reduces costs and improves reliability in large networks. Optical splitter. A fiber-optic splitter, also known as a beam splitter, is based on a quartz substrate of an integrated waveguide optical power distribution device, similar to a coaxial cable transmission system. The optical network system uses an optical signal coupled to the branch distribution. A splitter is not a filter like a wavelength division multiplexer (WDM). Rarely, there can be two inputs to provide potential redundancy of route.