Physics
Fiber Optic Cable
Fiber optic cable is a type of cable that uses thin strands of glass or plastic to transmit data using light pulses. It operates on the principle of total internal reflection, allowing the light to travel long distances with minimal loss of signal strength. Fiber optic cables are widely used in telecommunications and networking for their high bandwidth and immunity to electromagnetic interference.
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eBook - PDFPractical Industrial Data Networks
Design, Installation and Troubleshooting
- Steve Mackay, Edwin Wright, Deon Reynders, John Park(Authors)
- 2004(Publication Date)
- Newnes(Publisher)
Data transmission using a Fiber Optic Cable is many times faster than with electrical methods and speeds of over 10 Gbps are possible. Fiber Optic Cables deliver more reliable transmissions over greater distances, although at a somewhat greater cost. Cables of this type differ in their physical dimensions and composition and in the wavelength(s) of light with which the cable transmits. 6.1.1 Applications for Fiber Optic Cables Fiber Optic Cables offer the following advantages over other types of transmission media: • Light signals are impervious to interference from EMI or electrical crosstalk. • Light signals do not interfere with other signals. As a result, fiber optic connections can be used in extremely adverse environments, such as in lift shafts or assembly plants, where powerful motors produce lots of electrical noise. • Optical fibers have a much wider, flat bandwidth than coaxial cables and equalization of the signals is not required. • The fiber has a much lower attenuation, so signals can be transmitted much further than with coaxial or twisted pair cable before amplification is necessary. • Optical fiber cables do not conduct electricity and so eliminate problems of ground loops, lightning damage and electrical shock when cabling in high-voltage areas. • Fiber Optic Cables are generally much thinner and lighter than copper cable. • Fiber Optic Cables have greater data security than copper cables. • Licensing is not required, although a right-of way for laying the cable is needed. 6.2 Fiber Optic Cable components The major components of a Fiber Optic Cable are the core, cladding, buffer, strength members and jacket, as shown below. Some types of Fiber Optic Cable even include a conductive copper wire that can be used to provide power to a repeater.
No longer available |Learn more- (Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Research World(Publisher)
________________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ________________________ Chapter 2 Optical Fiber A bundle of optical fibers ________________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ________________________ A TOSLINK fiber optic audio cable being illuminated at one end An optical fiber or optical fibre is a thin, flexible, transparent fiber that acts as a waveguide, or light pipe, to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber. The field of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of optical fibers is known as fiber optics . Optical fibers are widely used in fiber-optic com-munications, which permits transmission over longer distances and at higher bandwidths (data rates) than other forms of communication. Fibers are used instead of metal wires because signals travel along them with less loss and are also immune to electromagnetic interference. Fibers are also used for illumination, and are w rapped in bundles so they can be used to carry images, thus allowing viewing in tight spaces. Specially designed fibers are used for a variety of other applications, including sensors and fiber lasers. Optical fiber typically consists of a transparent core surrounded by a transparent cladding material with a lower index of refraction. Light is kept in the core by total internal reflection. This causes the fiber to act as a waveguide. Fibers which support many propagation paths or transverse modes are called multi-mode fibers (MMF), while those which can only support a single mode are called single-mode fibers (SMF). Multi-mode fibers generally have a larger core diameter, and are used for short -distance communication links and for applications where high power must be transmitted. Single-mode fibers are used for most communication links longer than 1,050 meters (3,440 ft). Joining lengths of optical fiber is more complex than joining electrical wire or cable.
No longer available |Learn more- (Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Academic Studio(Publisher)
____________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ____________________ Chapter 2 Optical Fiber A bundle of optical fibers ____________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ____________________ A TOSLINK fiber optic audio cable being illuminated at one end An optical fiber or optical fibre is a thin, flexible, transparent fiber that acts as a waveguide, or light pipe, to transmit light between the two ends of the f iber. The field of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of optical fibers is known as fiber optics . Optical fibers are widely used in fiber-optic communications, which permits transmission over longer distanc es and at higher bandwidths (data rates) than other forms of communication. Fibers are used instead of metal wires because signals travel along them with less loss and are also immune to electromagnetic interference. Fibers are also used for illumination, and are wrapped in bundles so they can be used to carry images, thus allowing viewing in tight spaces. Specially designed fibers are used for a variety of other applications, including sensors and fiber lasers. Optical fiber typically consists of a transparent core surrounded by a transparent cladding material with a lower index of refraction. Light is kept in the core by total internal reflection. This causes the fiber to act as a waveguide. Fibers which support many propagation paths or transverse modes are called multi-mode fibers (MMF), while those which can only support a single mode are called single-mode fibers (SMF). Multi- mode fibers generally have a larger core diameter, and are used for short -distance communication links and for applications where high power must be transmitted. Single-mode fibers are used for most communication links longer than 1,050 meters (3,440 ft). Joining lengths of optical fiber is more complex than joining electrical wire or cable.
eBook - PDFPractical Industrial Data Communications
Best Practice Techniques
- Deon Reynders, Steve Mackay, Edwin Wright(Authors)
- 2004(Publication Date)
- Butterworth-Heinemann(Publisher)
3 Fiber optics 3.1 Introduction Fiber-optic communication uses light signals guided through a fiber core. Fiber-optic cables act as wave-guides for light, with all the energy guided through the central core of the cable. The light is guided due to the presence of a lower refractive index cladding surrounding the central core. None of the energy in the signal is able to escape into the cladding and no energy is able to enter the core from any external sources. Therefore the transmissions are not subject to electromagnetic interference. The core and the cladding will trap the light ray in the core, provided the light ray enters the core at an angle greater than the critical angle. The light ray will then travel through the core of the fiber, with minimal loss in power, by a series of total internal reflections. Figure 3.1 illustrates this process. Figure 3.1 Light ray traveling through an optical fiber Little of the light signal is absorbed in the glass core, so fiber-optic cables can be used for longer distances before the signal must be amplified, or repeated. Some fiber-optic segments can be many kilometers long before a repeater is needed. Data transmission using a fiber-optic cable is many times faster than with electrical methods, and speeds of over 10 Gbps are possible. Fiber-optic cables deliver more reliable transmissions over greater distances, although at a somewhat greater cost. Cables of this type differ in their physical dimensions and composition and in the wavelength(s) of light with which the cable transmits. Fiber-optic cables offer the following advantages over other types of transmission media: • Light signals are impervious to interference from EMI or electrical crosstalk. • Light signals do not interfere with other signals. As a result, fiber-optic connec-tions can be used in extremely adverse environments, such as in elevator shafts or assembly plants, where powerful motors produce lots of electrical noise.
No longer available |Learn more- (Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Library Press(Publisher)
____________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ____________________ Chapter- 10 Optical Fiber A bundle of optical fibers ____________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ____________________ A TOSLINK fiber optic audio cable being illuminated at one end An optical fiber or optical fibre is a thin, flexible, transparent fiber that acts as a waveguide, or light pipe, to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber. The field of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of optical fibers is known as fiber optics . Optical fibers are widely used in fiber-optic communications, which permits transmission over longer distances and at higher bandwidths (data rates) than other forms of communication. Fibers are used instead of metal wires because signals travel along them with less loss and are also immune to electromagnetic interference. Fibers are also used for illumination, and are wrapped in bundles so they can be used to carry images, thus allowing viewing in tight spaces. Specially designed fibers are used for a variety of other applications, including sensors and fiber lasers. Optical fiber typically consists of a transparent core surrounded by a transparent cladding material with a lower index of refraction. Light is kept in the core by total internal reflection. This causes the fiber to act as a waveguide. Fibers which support many propagation paths or transverse modes are called multi-mode fibers (MMF), while those which can only support a single mode are called single-mode fibers (SMF). Multi-mode fibers generally have a larger core diameter, and are used for short-distance communication links and for applications where high power must be transmitted. Single-mode fibers are used for most communication links longer than 1,050 meters (3,440 ft). Joining lengths of optical fiber is more complex than joining electrical wire or cable. The ends of the fibers must be carefully cleaved, and then spliced together either
No longer available |Learn more- (Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- White Word Publications(Publisher)
________________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ________________________ Chapter 4 Optical Fiber A bundle of optical fibers A TOSLINK fiber optic audio cable being illuminated at one end An optical fiber is a thin, flexible, transparent fiber that acts as a waveguide, or light pipe, to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber. The field of applied science and ________________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ________________________ engineering concerned with the design and application of optical fibers is known as fiber optics . Optical fibers are widely used in fiber-optic communications, which permits transmission over longer distances and at higher bandwidths (data rates) than other forms of communication. Fibers are used instead of metal wires because signals travel along them with less loss and are also immune to electromagnetic interference. Fibers are also used for illumination, and are wrapped in bundles so they can be used to carry images, thus allowing viewing in tight spaces. Specially designed fibers are used for a variety of other applications, including sensors and fiber lasers. Optical fiber typically consists of a transparent core surrounded by a transparent cladding material with a lower index of refraction. Light is kept in the core by total internal reflection. This causes the fiber to act as a waveguide. Fibers which support many propagation paths or transverse modes are called multi-mode fibers (MMF), while those which can only support a single mode are called single-mode fibers (SMF). Multi-mode fibers generally have a larger core diameter, and are used for short-distance communication links and for applications where high power must be transmitted. Single-mode fibers are used for most communication links longer than 1,050 meters (3,440 ft). Joining lengths of optical fiber is more complex than joining electrical wire or cable.
No longer available |Learn more- (Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Research World(Publisher)
____________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ____________________ Chapter 8 Optical Fiber A bundle of optical fibers ____________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ____________________ A TOSLINK fiber optic audio cable being illuminated at one end An optical fiber or optical fibre is a thin, flexible, transparent fiber that acts as a waveguide, or light pipe, to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber. The field of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of optical fibers is known as fiber optics . Optical fibers are widely used in fiber-optic communications, which permits transmission over longer distances and at higher bandwidths (data rates) than other forms of communication. Fibers are used instead of metal wires because signals travel along them with less loss and are also immune to electromagnetic interference. Fibers are also used for illumination, and are wrapped in bundles so they can be used to carry images, thus allowing viewing in tight spaces. Specially designed fibers are used for a variety of other applications, including sensors and fiber lasers. Optical fiber typically consists of a transparent core surrounded by a transparent cladding material with a lower index of refraction. Light is kept in the core by total internal reflection. This causes the fiber to act as a waveguide. Fibers which support many propagation paths or transverse modes are called multi-mode fibers (MMF), while those which can only support a single mode are called single-mode fibers (SMF). Multi-mode fibers generally have a larger core diameter, and are used for short-distance communication links and for applications where high power must be transmitted. Single-mode fibers are used for most communication links longer than 1,050 meters (3,440 ft). Joining lengths of optical fiber is more complex than joining electrical wire or cable. The ends of the fibers must be carefully cleaved, and then spliced together either
eBook - PDFThe Silicon Web
Physics for the Internet Age
- Michael G. Raymer(Author)
- 2009(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
497 15 Fiber-Optics Communication Currently, communication systems are mainly handling voice traffic, and now we are talking about adding data to it. At the same time, fiber optics is offering a unique opportunity to create a transmission network like the interstate highway system; it is really capable of handling lots of traffic. Charles Kuen Kao (1987) Network specialists at the University of Oregon installing optical communications fibers. (Courtesy of the University of Oregon.) Charles Kuen Kao was among the first to propose, in 1966, that glass fiber could be used for long-distance communication by light. (Courtesy of Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, American Institute of Physics.) 15.1 BANDWIDTH AND THE PHYSICS OF WAVES In 1966, Charles Kuen Kao, a Chinese-born scientist working in Britain, first proposed that glass fiber could be used to transmit light for long-distance communication if the attenuation or loss of light in the fiber could be made small enough. As described in Chapter 13, scientists at Corning were the first to make glass fiber with low loss, thus making Kao’s idea practical. Optical fiber systems can carry huge quantities of voice and data traffic. Compared to an AM radio channel, for example, a single optical fiber theoretically can carry millions of times more data per second! In the 1990s, a rapid increase in the amount of bandwidth available to users drove an exponential growth of the Internet. This revolution in data capacity is what recently enabled Internet abilities 498 The Silicon Web: Physics for the Internet Age such as on-demand video like YouTube. Our goal in this chapter is to understand why optical fiber permits such huge data rates. The answer to this question is not in the high speed of the light itself. In fact, light waves in fiber travel about 50% slower than do radio waves in air. The answer lies in the concept of bandwidth and the frequencies of the waves used in each case, as we shall see.
- B.E. Briley(Author)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- North Holland(Publisher)
There is therefore considerable interest in identifying relatively immune devices and materials, and in operating at wavelengths that may be less affected than others. 1.6 SUMMARY The field of fiber optics is relatively young. In the span of about 20 years it has become a pervasive yet still rapidly growing technology. Traditional transmis-sion techniques include use of metallic media (wire-pair, coaxial cable, and waveguide) and unguided transmission (terrestrial radio, satellite, and light). Wire-pair is virtually omnipresent in the telephone loop plant, but is severely limited in bandwidth. Coaxial cable is widely used for long-haul (e.g., transcon-tinental and transoceanic) communication, and for broadband communication (e.g., CATV distribution), but is relatively expensive. Metallic waveguide, though employed for very short-distance microwave frequency transmission, is too expensive in comparison to alternatives, for long-haul usage. Terrestrial radio is widely employed in long-haul telephonic trunking, but it is limited to line-of-sight at microwave frequencies, and is subject to atmospheric distur-bances. Satellites are severely limited in number and frequency allocation, and therefore total channel capacity, and introduce a delay disturbing to voice com-munication. Unguided transmission of light is line-of-sight, and subject to severe atmospheric disturbances. Fiber optics systems offer new dimensions in bandwidth, size, weight, repeater spacing, and cost/unit of utilized bandwidth, as well as virtual immun-ity to noise and cross-talk intrusion over the span. Hard radiation, however, can disturb fiber systems by increasing attenuation temporarily or permanently, and by transient disruption of transmission. Power-level diagrams are useful for depicting system power as a function of spatial position for fiber optic as well as other transmission systems.
eBook - PDFElectronic and Electrical Engineering
Principles and Practice
- Lionel Warnes(Author)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- Red Globe Press(Publisher)
The laser does not emit light at a single wavelength but at a number of closely-spaced wavelengths Fibre-optic communications 522 (26.2) Figure 26.3 A fibre-optic cable. The optical fibre comprises only the core and cladd-ing. Most of the cable bulk is made up of strengthening and buffering material for mechanical protection. The cable must exclude moisture because it degrades silica fibres Figure 26.4 Illustrating Snell’s law occupying a band whose width, though narrow, is finite. This bandwidth is known as the line-width and is sometimes expressed as a Q-factor, defined by where is the wavelength at the centre of the band and the linewidth. For example, a GaAs SLD emitting at 800 nm might have a Q of 500, producing a linewidth of 800/500 = 1.6 nm. Linewidth is important as it limits the bit-rate of transmission. 26.3 The channel: optical fibres Low-loss optical fibres have undoubtedly been the most important advance in materials for communications in the last 20 years. The fibres are drawn from a furnace containing molten silica (SiO 2 ) with small amounts of additives such as GeO 2 to permit the control of refractive index. Though a fibre-optic cable superficially looks like a piece of coaxial cable, it contains only a very small-diameter fibre at its centre, the rest being made up of strength members and protective material as shown in Figure 26.3. 26.3.1 Light ray confinement and acceptance Let us first consider fibres with a core of uniform RI, n 1 , surrounded by a cladding of uniform RI, n 2 , a step-index fibre. The core of the fibre carries the optical signal which is confined there by total internal reflection from the cladding. In Figure 26.4, the incident ray in the core (RI = n 1 ) makes an angle 1 with the normal to the axis, while the refracted ray in the cladding (RI = n 2 ) makes an angle 2 with it. Snell’s law states that
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