What Is Fiber Optics?

About one and a half decades ago, most electronic communication was carried out with the help of copper cables which were in the form of twisted pairs, coaxial cables or copper waveguides. Communication was achieved by sending electrical signals through the copper cable. In recent years, a new medium called optical fibers (OF) has been introduced. In OF communication, light signals are used instead of electrical signals.

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An OF is a transparent rod usually made of glass or clear plastic through which light can propagate. The light signal travels through the rod from the transmitter to the receiver and can be easily detected at the receiving end of the rod. A modern fibre consists of an optical rod core coated with a cladding. The refractive index of the rod is higher than the refractive index of the cladding material in order to utilize the phenomenon of total internal reflection for the propagation of the light through the rod. The light used is coherent light and not the ordinary composite light.

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Structure of OF

An optical thread essentially consists of a very thin fiber at its centre surrounded by cladding which is made of a material less density than the string material.

The threads are drawn from a furnace containing molten silica (SiO2) with small amounts of additives such as GeO2 to permit the control of refractive index.

Classification of Optical Threads

Optical threads can be classified into three groups according to the way light propagates down the fibre core.

1. Multimode step-index,
2. Single-mode step-index,
3. Multimode graded-index.

Plastic fibers (OF)

We must distinguish between plastic-clad and all plastic fibers. In the former, only the cladding is plastic, while in the latter, both the core and cladding are plastic. The characteristics of a plastic-clad string are similar to those of an all-glass thread except that the plastic-clad string is much more sensitive to abrasive damage.

OF Cable

A typical glass thread is about 100-205 micro-metre in diameter. It is brittle and highly susceptible to damage such as scratches. Since the size of the string is small, this damage increases losses. Hence, it is not advisable to use a bare optical string. It has to be protected. The amount of protection a string needs varies from one application to another. In simple applications, a thread protected by a thin buffer coating would be alright while a transoceanic-fiber would need considerable protection during transportation, installation and operation.

What Is Fiber Optics?

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