Optical fiber - what it is and what it is used for

Optical fiber - what it is and what it is used for ?

Recently, optical fiber has become a very popular type of cabling, because it offers a very high data rate, it is resistant to interference and enables long-distance transmissions - more or less as standard 100 - BaseFX up to 2000 Metres.

Each optical fiber consists of a so-called outer sheath (protective), a set of fibers and each fiber is a set of three elements.

  • Buffer
  • The coat
  • Core

The light that travels through the fibers of an optical fiber is transmitted at a very high speed. Everything is done with the help of the "light signal" which is propagated in the fibers of the optical fiber. Signal that is transmitted between network devices, changes to a light pulse by the transmitter, then it turns into an electrical impulse.

Spreading out (propagation) light signal, it is based on a breakdown (reflection). It all starts with introducing the light pulse at the correct angle. Then the whole ray spreads until it meets the reflection point on its path. Then it bounces off it and follows the path inside the mantle, until it meets the next reflection point. The whole transmission process is based on the constant bouncing of light pulses, until the goal is achieved.

What are the optical fibers?

Singlemode optical fibers - a cable that transmits one beam of light. It has a diameter, which is in a very narrow range 8-9 a, and the cable itself to the standard diameter, i.e. 125 a.

Multimode fiber optics – cables that can transmit many rays (mods) at various angles and therefore the core of the entire fiber is slightly larger than that of its predecessor because it is 50 – 62,5 a.

What are the advantages of single-mode fiber?

  • They limit the phenomenon of desperation with a single beam.
  • They enable signal transmission over very long distances (until 150 kilometers)
  • They have a wide frequency response and low attenuation

 

What are the advantages of multimode fiber?

 

  • They allow the transmission of many rays
  • They have greater throughput over short distances (to approx 2 kilometers)

 

What are the ways of connecting optical fibers?

You can combine them in three ways such as:

  • Welding (a method that is a top-class combination)
  • Gluing
  • Use of couplings

Examples of Ethernet network standards, which use fiber optic links:

  • 100BaseFX – it is multi-home optical fiber. Its maximum speed is 100 Mb / s, and the maximum length. The segment is 2000 Metres.
  • 1000Base-LX – it is a single-mode optical fiber. The maximum transmission speed is 1000 Mb / s, while the max segment length is 10 kilometers.
  • 1000Base-SX – it is multi-home optical fiber, whose max speed is 1000 Mb / s, and the max segment is 550 Metres.
  • 10GBase-LR – it is a single-mode optical fiber, its maximum transmission speed is as high as 10 Gbps, and the maximum segment length is 10 kilometers.