Fiber optics or optical fiber technology is popular for use with wide area networks (WANs), telecommunications, and data communication systems, due to the many advantages that fiber optics offers. Excellent data transfer capabilities, electrical isolation, and noise rejection are key characteristics that have led to the widespread adoption of this technology. Today, fiber optic cables are used to transmit all types of data including images, voice, and data.
Designed on the principle of light by refraction, the technology was successfully experimented by Narinder Singh Kampany and Harold Hopkins in 1953. The term fiber optics was coined by Narinder Singh Kampany who introduced this concept to a wide audience through his article in the year 1960. Some commercial fiber links were designed and deployed in the 1970s. They could transfer data at 45Mbit/sec. Following subsequent development of the technology, today, a single strand of fiber can transmit more than 100 terabits/second. This shows fiber topic cables possess the capability to meet the rising demand for bandwidth and speeds in the future.
Fiber optic networks work on the principle of total internal reflection.
So, what is total internal reflection?Based on the optical density, light rays travel in a linear manner from a denser medium to a relatively less dense medium. Here, refraction occurs when the light rays pass from a higher refractive index medium to a lower one, and the refracted light bends at a specific angle. This is called critical angle. If the angle of incidence is greater than this critical angle, the incident rays are reflected back onto the original medium.
How is this concept practically applied in a fiber optic network?When it comes to a fiber optic network, cables are made of glass or fiber and are designed such that the light beam bends inward. This prevents scattering or distortion of light. In a fiber optic cable, light bounces within the boundaries and the length of these cables can be very long or as required. This enables data transmission and reception over large distances without signal attenuation. It also enables long distance transmission in a fiber optic network architecture comprising multiple connected LANs, dissimilar networks, point-to-point links, and several connected devices.
Fiber optics or optical fiber is flexible, transparent, glass-drawn strands of micro diameter. The manufacturing material of fiber optic strands can be plastic or glass (Silica) according to the requirement. The optical fiber diameter is generally slightly thicker than a human hair that is of 100 microns maximum. The optical fiber technology is basically transmission light through these thin strands of optical fiber. In this technology, multiple optical fibers are bundled together to form a fiber optic cable for signal transmission purposes. The data transmission in fiber optic technology is performed in the form of light rays. The light signals are data encoded.
Fiber optic technology was designed to match the transmission speed of light. The fiber optic data transmission in a media-less or vacuum transmission environment matches the speed of light. However, inside the fiber optic cable, due to the presence of enclosed air media, the data transfer speed may drop to two-third of the actual speed of light.
There are several types of fiber optics cables depending on the construction, function, and number of strands. The categorization of optical fibers is detailed as follows.
According to the function or mode of transmission, there are two main types of optical fiber. The mode is basically the path through which the light beam travels. The following are two types of an optical fiber according to function or mode of transmission.
Note: Here, in OS1 and OS2, OS stands for optical single-mode.
Single-mode fiber optic cables are used for telephone and Internet applications.
Type of Optical Fiber |
Core Diameter |
Feature/Bandwidth |
OM1 |
62.5 |
Higher bandwidth FDDI-Grade Cables |
OM2 |
50 |
High control over light propagation |
OM3 |
50 |
Optimized for lasers |
OM4 |
50 |
Higher bandwidth and longer reach as compared to other types. |
Note: Here, in OM1 and OM2, OM stands for optical multi-mode.
Depending on the number of strands, the capability of a fiber optic cable differs, therefore the following are the types based on the number of strands.
According to constructional design, the following types of multi-mode fiber optics cables are found.
Fiber optic cables are constructed of five fundamental components. The core to jacket construction of a fiber optic cable is detailed as follows.
The transmission principle of fiber optics is detailed as follows.
As discussed earlier, fiber optic transmits signals in the form of light waves. However, the technology is used in applications like telecommunication, audio, video, and image data transmission. In such cases, fiber optic cable undergoes slightly different transmission phenomena, however, the main transmission principle remains the same.
This way, the telecommunication-centric signal transmission is performed via fiber optic cables.
Fiber optics help connect different devices in a network. The devices like receivers, transmitters, signal multiplexers, etc are interconnected using fiber optic cables. The cables are connected or terminated by using fiber optic connectors.
There are two ways of fiber optic termination used in fiber optic topology or networking, which are detailed as follows.
Fiber optic technology is extensively in use for several industrial operations due to the excellent characteristics it offers. The range of fiber optic characteristics is wide but some of the most important characteristics are listed below.
Fiber optics being a globally accepted technology, it is bound to offer design, manufacturing, and transmission performance at some standard specifications. In order to ensure the design, manufacturing, material, and operational specifications of the global quality standards like ITU, IEC standards are established.
The list of quality and performance standards for fiber optics cables and technology are listed.
The fiber optics technology is implemented across several industries. The following are a few common applications of fiber optics.
Owing to its beneficial features and customizable capabilities, fiber optics technology has been widespread over the globe. Due to the signal transmission at the speed of light, this technology has paved its way to several industrial applications for audio, video, and image signal transmission in the form of light waves. The fiber optics are used in computer networking, as well as in the electronics and broadcasting industry for optimizing connections and speed of data transfer. The telephone companies are slowly adopting this technology, which suggests, they will continue to lead the communication industry for several years. To gain more information about fiber optics technology and related products, please visit/contact VERSITRON at https://www.versitron.com.
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