CONTENTS

1.INTRODUCTION
2.OPTICAL FIBER CABLE
3.CONSTRUCTION
4.PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
5.MULTIMODE FIBER
6.SINGLE MODE FIBER
7.SPECIAL PURPOSE FIBER
8.SPLICING OF FIBER CABLE
9.OPTICAL FIBER COMMUNICATION
10.FIBER OPTIC SENSOR
11.PROTECTION
12.APPLICATIONS OF OPTICAL FIBER CABLE
13.ADVANTAGE OF FIBER CABLES
14.DISADVANTAGES OF FIBER CABLE
An optical fiber is a flexible, transparent fiber made
of very pure glass (silica) not much wider than a
human hair that acts as a waveguide, or "light pipe",
to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber.

Optical fibers are widely used in

fiber-optic communications, which permits
transmission over longer distances and at higher
bandwidths (data rates) than other forms of
communication. Fibers are used instead of metal
wires because signals travel along them with less
loss.
 OPTICAL FIBRE CABLE ::

Optical fiber is the latest

underground cable that is being
used extensively in all the
networks including long distance
trunks, junction circuits and even
the local subscriber loops to
enhance the data transmission.

An optical fiber is a flexible,

transparent fiber made of very
pure glass (silica).
 CONSTRUCTION

The construction of an optical fiber cable consists of an inner

glass core surrounded by a glass cladding which has a lower
refractive index. Digital signals are transmitted in the form of
intensity-modulated light signal which is trapped in the glass
core.
 Principle of operation

An optical fiber is a cylindrical dielectric waveguide

(nonconducting waveguide) 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. The boundary between the core and cladding
may either be abrupt, in step-index fiber, or gradual, in
graded-index fiber.
Fiber with large core diameter (greater than
10micrometers) may be analyzed by
geometrical optics. Such fiber is called multi-mode
fiber, from the electromagnetic analysis
The structure of a typical
single-mode fiber.
1. Core: 8m diameter
2. Cladding: 125m dia.
3. Buffer: 250m dia.
4. Jacket: 400m dia.

Fiber supporting only one mode is called single-

mode or mono-mode fiber.
 SPECIAL PURPOSE FIBER

Some special-purpose optical fiber is

constructed with a non-cylindrical core and/or
cladding layer, usually with an elliptical or
rectangular cross-section.
Such fiber uses diffraction effects instead of or
in addition to total internal reflection, to
confine light to the fiber's core
 SPLICING OF OPTICAL FIBER

Optical fibers may be connected to each other

by connectors or by splicing, that is, joining
two fibers together to form a continuous
optical waveguide. The generally accepted
splicing method is arc fusion splicing, which
melts the fiber ends together with an electric
arc. For quicker fastening jobs, a "mechanical
splice" is used.
Fusion splicing is done with a specialized instrume
1.Fusion Splicing- Fusion splicing is done with a
specialized instrument.

2. Mechanical Splicing For more fastening

mechanical splicing is used.
 Optical Fiber Communication

Optical fiber can be used as a medium for

telecommunication and networking because it is
flexible and can be bundled as cables. It is
especially advantageous for long-distance
communications, because light propagates
through the fiber with little attenuation
compared to electrical cables.

A single fiber can carry much more data than

electrical cables such as standard category 5
Ethernet cabling, which typically runs at 1 Gbit/s
.
 Fiber Optic Sensors

Fibers have many uses in remote sensing. In

some applications, the sensor is itself an
optical fiber. In other cases, fiber is used to
connect a non-fiberoptic sensor to a
measurement system. Depending on the
application, fiber may be used because of its
small size,
Optical fibers can be used as sensors to measure
strain, temperature, pressure and other
quantities by modifying a fiber so that the
property to measure modulates the intensity,
phase, polarization, wavelength, or transit time
of light in the fiber.
 PROTECTION

Fiber cables require Protection:-

1.from probable mechanical damages.

2. from water and chemicals or soil conditions.

3. from Induction due to Electrical lines.

4. from diggings by different agencies.

5. from damages while handling.

APPLICATIONS OF OPTICAL FIBER CABLE
1.Optical fiber transmission systems are
widely used in the backbone of networks.
Current optical fiber systems provide
transmission rates from 45 Mb/s to 9.6
Gb/s using the single wavelength
transmission.
2.The installation cost of optical fibers is
higher than that for co-axial or twisted
wire cables.
3.Optical fiber are now used in the
telephone systems.
4.In the local area networks (LANs).
5. 8 MB MUX for 120 channels.
6. 34 MB for 480 channels.
7. 140 MB for 1920 channels.
 ADVANTAGES OF OPTICAL FIBERS
1. Small Size and Light Weight: The size (diameter) of
the optical fiber is very small. Therefore, a large number
of optical fibers can fit into a cable of small diameter.
2. Easy availability and low cost: The material used for
the manufacturing of optical fibers is silica glass. The
material is easily available. Hence , the optical fibers
cost lower than the cables with metallic conductors.
3. No electrical or Electromagnetic interference:
Since the transmission takes place in the form of light
rays the signal is not affected due to any electrical or
electromagnetic interferences.
4. Large bandwidth: As the light rays have high
frequency in the GHz range, the bandwidth of the
optical fiber extremely large.
5. Large bandwidth: As the light rays have high
frequency in the GHz range, the bandwidth of the
optical fiber extremely large.
 DISADVANTAGES OF FIBER CABELS

1. Sophisticated plants are required for

manufacturing optical fiber.
2. The initial cost incurred is high.
3. Joining the optical fiber is a difficult job.