OPTICAL FIBRE CABLE

An optical fiber cable is a cable containing one or more optical fibers. The optical fiber elements are typically individually coated with plastic layers and contained in a protective tube suitable for the environment where the cable will be deployed. DESIGN: Optical fiber consists of a core and a cladding layer, selected for total internal reflection due to the difference in the refractive index between the two. In practical fibers, the cladding is usually coated with a layer of acrylate polymer or polyimide. This coating protects the fiber from damage but does not contribute to its optical waveguide properties. A critical concern in outdoor cabling is to protect the fiber from contamination by water. This is accomplished by use of solid barriers such as copper tubes, and water-repellent jelly or water-absorbing powder surrounding the fiber. inally, the cable may be armored to protect it from environmental ha!ards, such as construction wor" or gnawing animals. #ndersea cables are more heavily armored in their near-shore portions to protect them from boat anchors, fishing gear, and even shar"s, which may be attracted to the electrical power that is carried to power amplifiers or repeaters in the cable. CABLE TYPES: O $% Optical fiber, conductive O &% Optical fiber, nonconductive O $'% Optical fiber, conductive, general use O &'% Optical fiber, nonconductive, general use O $(% Optical fiber, conductive, plenum O &(% Optical fiber, nonconductive, plenum

O $)% Optical fiber, conductive, riser O &)% Optical fiber, nonconductive, riser O('*% Optical fiber composite overhead ground wire A+,,% All-+ielectric ,elf-,upporting

DATA TRANSMISSION: +ata transmission fiber optics, simply put, is the sending and receiving of data from point-to-point via a networ", thus the fundamental function of all fiber systems from small to large. +ata transmission re-uirements range from very simple cables connecting servers or storage arrays inside a networ" or telecommunications system, to large multi-fiber distribution cables supporting intra-building connectivity and beyond. or smaller, locali!ed data transmission applications, a multitude of products are available to move data from place to place. (rimarily multimode, these applications use single fibers to move multiple signals over distances, usually less than .// meters. +epending on the particular application or system re-uirement, data transmission cabling can ta"e many forms from basic simplex 0,12 or duplex 0+12 cable assemblies to ribbon fiber distribution cables, and various combinations of customi!ed products. In larger data transmission applications, data transmission can be multimode, single mode, or a combination of the two, depending on bandwidth and transmission distance re-uirements. These applications generally use a higher volume or longer lengths of cabling, or in some case both, supporting data centers, building-to-building, campuses, and carrier networ" communications. PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION: An optical fiber is a cylindrical dielectric waveguide 0nonconducting waveguide2 that transmits light along its axis, by the process of total internal reflection. The fiber consists of a core surrounded by a cladding layer, both of which are made of dielectric materials. To confine the optical signal in the core, the refractive index of the core must be greater than that of the cladding.

Index of refraction The index of refraction is a way of measuring the speed of light in a material. 3ight travels fastest in a vacuum, such as outer space. The speed of light in a vacuum is about .//,/// "ilometers 0456,/// miles2 per second. Index of refraction is calculated by dividing the speed of light in a vacuum by the speed of light in some other medium. The index of refraction of a vacuum is therefore 4, by definition. The typical value for the cladding of an optical fiber is 4.78. The core value is typically 4.68. The larger the index of refraction, the slower light travels in that medium. Total internal reflection *hen light traveling in an optically dense medium hits a boundary at a steep angle 0larger than the critical angle for the boundary2, the light will be completely reflected. This is called total internal reflection. This effect is used in optical fibers to confine light in the core. 3ight travels through the fiber core, bouncing bac" and forth off the boundary between the core and cladding. 9ecause the light must stri"e the boundary with an angle greater than the critical angle, only light that enters the fiber within a certain range of angles can travel down the fiber without lea"ing out. This range of angles is called the acceptance cone of the fiber. The si!e of this acceptance cone is a function of the refractive index difference between the fiber:s core and cladding. Multi-mode fiber iber with large core diameter 0greater than 4/ micrometers2 may be analy!ed by geometrical optics. ,uch fiber is called multi-mode fiber, from the electromagnetic analysis. In a step-index multi-mode fiber, rays of light are guided along the fiber core by total internal reflection. )ays that meet the core-cladding boundary at a high angle greater than the critical angle for this boundary, are completely reflected. The critical angle 0minimum angle for total internal reflection2 is determined by the difference in index of refraction between the core and cladding materials. )ays that meet the boundary at a low angle are refracted from the core into the cladding, and do not convey light and hence information along the fiber.

Sin le!"o#e fiber iber with a core diameter less than about ten times the wavelength of the propagating light cannot be modeled using geometric optics. The electromagnetic analysis may also be re-uired to understand behaviors such as spec"le that occur when coherent light propagates in multi-mode fiber. As an optical waveguide, the fiber supports one or more confined transverse modes by which light can propagate along the fiber. iber supporting only one mode is called single-mode or monomode fiber$ The most common type of single-mode fiber has a core diameter of 5;4/ micrometers and is designed for use in the near infrared. The mode structure depends on the wavelength of the light used, so that this fiber actually supports a small number of additional modes at visible wavelengths. <ulti-mode fiber, by comparison, is manufactured with core diameters as small as 7/ micrometers and as large as hundreds of micrometers. Special!p%rpo&e fiber ,ome special-purpose optical fiber is constructed with a non-cylindrical core and=or cladding layer, usually with an elliptical or rectangular cross-section. These include polari!ation-maintaining fiber and fiber designed to suppress whispering gallery mode propagation. Di&a#'anta e& of Optical fibre&: Price ! >ven though the raw material for ma"ing optical fibres, sand, is abundant and cheap, optical fibres are still more expensive per metre than copper. Although, one fibre can carry many more signals than a single copper cable and the large transmission distances mean that fewer expensive repeaters are re-uired. Fra ilit( ! Optical fibres are more fragile than electrical wires. Affecte# b( c)e"ical& ! The glass can be affected by various chemicals including hydrogen gas 0a problem in underwater cables.2 Opa*%ene&& ! +espite extensive military use it is "nown that most fibres become opa-ue when exposed to radiation. Re*%ire& &pecial &+ill& ! Optical fibres cannot be joined together as a easily as copper cable and re-uires additional training of personnel and expensive precision splicing and measurement e-uipment.

A#'anta e& Of Fiber Optic& Immunity to >lectromagnetic Interference +ata ,ecurity &on $onductive $ables >liminating ,par" ?a!ards >ase Of Installation ?igh 9andwidth Over 3ong +istances Uses of Optical Fibres #ntil the optical fibre networ" was developed, telephone calls were mainly sent as electrical signals along copper wire cables. As demand for the systems to carry more telephone calls increased, simple copper wires did not have the capacity, "nown as bandwidth, to carry the amount of information re-uired. ,ystems using coaxial cables li"e T@ aerial leads were used but as the need for more bandwidth grew, these systems became more and more expensive especially over long distances when more signal regenerators were needed. As demand increases and higher fre-uency signals are carried, eventually the electronic circuits in the regenerators just cannot cope. Optical fibres offer huge communication capacity. A single fibre can carry the conversations of every man, woman and child on the face of this planet, at the same time, twice over. The latest generations of optical transmission systems are beginning to exploit a significant part of this huge capacity, to satisfy the rapidly growing demand for data communications and the Internet. The main advantages of using optical fibres in the communications industry are% - A much greater amount of information can be carried on an optical fibre compared to a copper cable. - In all cables some of the energy is lost as the signal goes along the cable. The signal then needs to be boosted using regenerators. or copper cable systems these are re-uired every 8 to ."m but with optical fibre systems they are only needed every 7/"m.

- #nli"e copper cables, optical fibres do not experience any electrical interference. &either will they cause spar"s so they can be used in explosive environments such as oil refineries or gas pumping stations. - or e-ual capacity, optical fibres are cheaper and thinner than copper cables which ma"es them easier to install and maintain.