 An optical fiber is a hair thin cylindrical fiber of glass or any transparent dielectric medium.  The fiber which are used for optical communication are wave guides made of transparent dielectrics.  Its function is to guide visible and infrared light over long distance.

An optical fiber is a cylindrical dielectric waveguide made of low-loss materials such as silica glass. It has a central core in which the light is guided, embedded in an outer cladding of slightly lower refractive index (Fig. 8.0-l). In both types of waveguide light propagates in the form of modes.

There are two primary types of fibre – multimode and singlemode.

The applications of optical fiber mainly involve transmitting the data in the place of metal cables due to the capacity of high-transmission and data transmission. Nowadays, these cables are used for different purposes in a variety of industries like communications, broadcast, industrial, military, and medical.

How Does An Optical Fibre Work? Optical Fibre Working Principle. Optical fiber works on the principle of total internal reflection. When light traveling in an optically dense medium hits a boundary at a steep angle (larger than the critical angle for the boundary), the light is completely reflected.

principle of total reflection

Fiber Optic Benefits and Fiber Optic Advantages

• Complete input/output electrical isolation.
• No electromagnetic interference (EMI) susceptibility or radiation along the transmission media.
• Broad bandwidth over a long distance.
• Light-weight, small-diameter cables.

Types of Optical Fibers

• Step index-single mode fibers.
• Graded index-Single mode fibers.
• Step index-Multimode fibers.
• Graded index-Multimode fibers.

An optical fiber consists of three basic concentric elements: the core, the cladding, and the outer coating (Figure 1). The core is usually made of glass or plastic, although other materials are sometimes used, depending on the transmission spectrum desired. The core is the light-transmitting portion of the fiber.

Optical fibers are about the diameter of a strand of human hair and when bundled into a fiber-optic cable, they’re capable of transmitting more data over longer distances and faster than other mediums. It is this technology that provides homes and businesses with fiber-optic internet, phone and TV services.

Here’s a quick, step-by-step overview of the process of getting fiber internet installed at your home.

1. Find a fiber-optic internet provider in your area.
2. Schedule a fiber internet installation appointment.
3. Purchase or lease a fiber internet router.
4. Connect your devices to your home fiber network.
5. Now wait less and do more!

The three basic elements of a fiber optic cable are the core, the cladding and the coating. Core: This is the light transmission area of the fiber, either glass or plastic.

Outdoor Armoured fiber cable features a protective corrugated steel tape making it ideal for harsh outdoor applications. It’s loose tube construction surrounds the fibers in a protective gel, allowing for expansion and contraction of the cable without damage to the fibers.

A fibre optic cable is made from a glass or plastic core that carries light surrounded by glass cladding that (due to its lower refractive index) reflects “escaping” light back into the core, resulting in the light being guided along the fibre.

Let’s talk about fiber optic types and core sizes. There are three common core sizes: 9/125, 50/125, and 62.5/125. Each of those numbers stands for a measurement, and that measurement is in microns. I quickly drew a cross-section of a fiber cable to help explain all this.

Since most loose tube cables have 12 fibers per tube, colors are specified for fibers 1-12, then tubes are color coded in the same manner, up to 144 fiber cables.

Chap 2-6 Networking Class Review Questions

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Low power—Light emitting sources are limited to low power. Although high power emitters are available to improve power supply, it would add extra cost. Fragility—Optical fiber is rather fragile and more vulnerable to damage compared to copper wires.

Ninety-nine percent of international data is transmitted by wires at the bottom of the ocean called submarine communications cables. In total, they are hundreds of thousands of miles long and can be as deep as Everest Is tall. The cables are installed by special boats called cable-layers.