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OPTICAL FIBERS:
STRUCTURES,
WAVEGUIDING,
AND
FABRICATION

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The Nature of Light
1. Light is a transverse, electromagnetic wave that can be seen by
humans.
1. The wave nature of light was first illustrated through experiments on
diffraction and interference.
2. Like all electromagnetic waves, light can travel through a vacuum.
3. The transverse nature of light can be demonstrated through
polarization.
4. The speed of light depends upon the medium through which it travels.
5. Intensity is the absolute measure of a light wave's power density
6. Brightness is the relative intensity as perceived by the average human
eye.
7. The frequency of a light wave is related to its energy and color.
8. The wavelength of a light wave is inversely proportional to its
frequency.

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irfan

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Spherical and plane wave fronts

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Field distributions in plane E&M waves

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The Structure of an Electromagnetic Wave. Electric and magnetic fields are
actually superimposed over the top of one another but are illustrated separately
for clarity in illustration. The z-direction can be considered to be either a
representation in space or the passing of time at a single point.

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Amplitude Fluctuation in an Electromagnetic Wave. Here both the electric field
and the magnetic field are shown as a single field oscillating about a locus of
points which forms the line of travel.

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Basic Optical Laws and Definitions
Refractive Index
The ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to that in
matter is known as the refractive index or index of
refraction n of the material and is given by
Typical values of n are
1.00 for air,
1.33 for water,
1.45 for silica glass
2.42 for diamond.
larger value of n = Denser material
lower value of n = Less denser material
n = c / v

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Index of Refraction
n1<n2<n3

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Reflection of light

Some part of the light reflected when strikes on

a surface

Laws of reflection of light

Angle of incident is equal to angle of reflection
The incident ray, the normal and the reflected ray
all lies in same direction
Refraction of light

When light enters from one medium to other

medium

Direction and velocity are changed

It is called refraction of light

Refraction and reflection

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When light passes from rare to dense

medium, it bends towards the normal

When light passes from dense to rare

medium, it bends away from the normal

Law of refraction is

The incident ray, the normal, and the refracted

ray at the point of incident all lies in the same
plane

The ratio of the sine of angle incidence to the

sine of angle of refraction is always constant

This ratio is called refractive index

Refraction and reflection

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Refraction and reflection

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Diagrams illustrating reflection and refraction of light, viewed as waves and
particles.

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Snell,s Law

Snell discovered the relationship between

the refractive indices of the materials and
the sine of the angles as:

n1 sin1 = n2 sin2

If the angle of refraction is 90 then it is

equal to 1 so
Sin
c
=n
2
/ n
1
Refraction and reflection

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Total internal reflection

When light passes from denser medium

to rarer medium it bends away from the
normal

The incident angle for which angle of

refraction is 90 is called critical angle

If incident angle becomes more than

critical angle all the light will reflect back
to the same denser medium

Such a phenomenon is called total

internal reflection
Refraction and reflection

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Angle of Refraction
Angle of
Reflection
Angle of Incidence =
D
The critical angle of incidence.
Glass
Air
B
Glass
Air
Angle of Incidence
A
Glass
Air
Critical Angle
90
0
C
Glass
Air

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Polarization Components of Light

Light is composed of one or more transverse

electromagnetic waves

Electric field (called an E field) and a magnetic field

(called an H field) component.

In a transverse wave the directions of the vibrating

electric and magnetic fields are perpendicular to each
other and are at right angles to the direction of propagation of
the wave

Vibrations in the electric field are parallel to one another at

all points in the wave, so that the electric field forms a plane
called the plane of vibration

All points in the magnetic field component of the wave lie in

a plane that is at right angles to the electric field plane.

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Unpolarized light
An ordinary light wave is made up of many transverse
waves that vibrate in a variety of directions (i.e., in more
than one plane) and is referred to as unpolarized light.
Any arbitrary direction of vibration can be represented as a
combination of a parallel vibration and a perpendicular
vibration
As soon as light interacts with anything, whether through
reflection, transmission, or scattering, there is opportunity
for polarization to be induced.

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The refracted light is polarized depends on the angle at which
the light approaches the surface and on the material itself.
Unpolarized light can be split into separate polarization
components either by reflection off a nonmetallic surface or by
refraction when the light passes from one material to another.
In the case when all the electric field planes of the different
transverse waves are aligned parallel to one another, then
the light wave is linearly polarized. This is the simplest type
of polarization.
Unpolarized light

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Polarized/unpolarized waves on rope.

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Multitude of
polarization
components
Parallel
polarization
components
Perpendicular
polarization
components
Polarization represented as a combination of a parallel vibration and
perpendicular vibration

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1 2
n
2
< n
1
n
1
Material interface
Incident ray
Reflected ray
Refracted ray
Perpendicular polarization
Parallel polarization
Partially refracted perpendicular polarization
Behavior of an unpolarized light beam at the interface between air and a
nonmetallic surface

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Depending on the orientation of the slot, the train of waves (a) goes entirely
through the slot; (b) is partly reflected and partly transmitted with changed angles
of rope vibration; or (c) is completely reflected.

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Polarization-Sensitive Materials
1. Polarizer
2. Faraday rotator
3. Birefringent crystals
A polarizer is a material or device that transmits only one polarization
component and blocks the other.
A Faraday rotator is a device that rotates the state of polarization
(SOP) of light passing through it by a specific amount
Certain crystalline materials have a property called double refraction
or birefringence. This means that the indices of refraction are slightly
different along two perpendicular axes of the crystal. A device made
from such materials is known as a spatial walk-off polarizer (SWP).

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Polarizer

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A Faraday rotator is a device that rotates the state of polarization clockwise
by 45
o
or a quarter of a wavelength
Faraday rotator

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Faraday rotator

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Faraday rotator

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Birefringent crystals

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Some Common Birefringent Crystals and Their Ordinary and
Extraordinary Indices of Refraction
Birefringent crystals

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Intentionally Left Blank

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Optical fiber modes and
configurations
Fiber Structures
Cross sections of a generic fiber structure showing a core, a cladding,
and a buffer coating

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Single fiber structure

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Core
1. Light propagates along the core of the fiber.
2. Core material is highly pure silica SiO
2
and is
surrounded by glass cladding.
Cladding
1. Cladding reduces scattering loss that results from
the dielectric discontinuities at the core surface.
2. It adds mechanical strength to the fiber
3. It protects the core from absorbing surface
contaminants with which it could come in contact.

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What does a Micron look like?

Human Hair
.0035 inch
90 Micron
9 Microns
1 Micron
.000039 inch
.001 mm

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Modes

Simply can be defined as the different paths of the light through

the optical fiber cable

Every mode is represented by a unique solution of the Maxwells

equation inside the core

The stable Field distribution along the x-axis with only a periodic
z-dependence is known as mode
Fiber Types
Generally two types
1. Single mode
2. Multimode
Step index Fiber
Graded index Fiber

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Fiber Types

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Only permits the fundamental mode of the

light

Smaller diameter of the core

Numerical aperture is also small

Reduced acceptance angle

Difficult to couple the light in the fiber

Single mode fiber
Fiber Types

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Transmits a large number of modes

Each mode has the different path through the fiber

Each mode arrives at the end at slightly different time

(modal dispersion)

Modal dispersion can be reduced by varying the

refractive index with in the core

There are two types of multimode fibers

Step index and graded index
Fiber Types
Multimode fiber

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Step index Multimode fiber

The core of the fiber has the uniform refractive

index.

Graded index Multimode Fiber

Graded-index fiber becoming very popular for

specialized applications.

It is relatively expensive to manufacture, due to

its complex core structure.
Fiber Types

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Fiber Types
Advantages Multimode Fiber:
1. Easier to launch optical power into the fiber.
2. Easier to connect similar optical fibers.
3. LED are used for launching optical power whereas single mode
fiber use Laser.
LEDs are easier to make
Less expensive

Less complex circuitry

Longer life time

Disadvantage:
1. Intermodal dispersion

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Ray optics representation of the propagation mechanism in an ideal
step index fiber.
Ray Optics

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Acceptance angle

The entering rays which have the angle

greater than c can be transmitted in
optical fiber

As the fiber is Circular, so angle is

applicable in two dimensions and would
look like a cone

The range of incident angles which can

be used for total Internal Reflection is
called Cone of acceptance

Ray Optics

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Numerical Aperture

It is measure of fibers light gathering ability.

This represent the coupling of light into the

fiber core.

Think of the aperture as a funnel, the larger

the funnel the more usable light thats pumped
into the core.
Ray Optics

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Numerical Aperture

Light will be accepted and propagated only if

it enters the core and strikes the cladding at an
angle greater than the critical angle.

Any light rays striking the core within this

acceptance cone will be propagated down the
fiber.

Sin value of acceptance angle is called

Numerical aperture.
Ray Optics

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Ray Optics
Critical angle
Sin
c
= n2 / n1
Maximum entrance angle
n sin
0,max
=n
1
sin
c
= (n1
2
- n2
2
)
1/2
Numerical Aperture NA
NA= n sin
0,max
= (n
1
2
- n
2
2
)
1/2

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Intentionally Left Blank

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Optical rays transmission through dielectric slab
waveguide
c c
n n

< >
2
;
2 1
1
1
]
1

,
_

sin
cos
2
sin
tan
1
2
2
2
2
1
1
n
n n
m d n
For TE-case, when electric waves are normal to the plane of incidence
must be satisfied with following relationship:
[2-25]
Optical Fiber communications, 3
rd
ed.,G.Keiser,McGrawHill, 2000
O

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Note

Home work 2-1) Find an expression for ,considering that the electric
field component of optical wave is parallel to the plane of incidence (TM-
case).

As you have seen, the polarization of light wave down the slab waveguide
changes the condition of light transmission. Hence we should also consider
the EM wave analysis of EM wave propagation through the dielectric slab
waveguide. In the next slides, we will introduce the fundamental concepts
of such a treatment, without going into mathematical detail. Basically we
will show the result of solution to the Maxwells equations in different
regions of slab waveguide & applying the boundary conditions for electric
& magnetic fields at the surface of each slab. We will try to show the
connection between EM wave and ray optics analyses.

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EM analysis of Slab waveguide

For each particular angle, in which light ray can be faithfully transmitted
along slab waveguide, we can obtain one possible propagating wave
solution from a Maxwells equations or mode.

The modes with electric field perpendicular to the plane of incidence

(page) are called TE (Transverse Electric) and numbered as:

Electric field distribution of these modes for 2D slab waveguide can be
expressed as:
wave transmission along slab waveguides, fibers & other type of optical
waveguides can be fully described by time & z dependency of the mode:
,... TE , TE , TE
2 1 0
number) (mode 3 , 2 , 1 , 0
) cos( ) ( e ) , , , (

m
z t y f t z y x E
m m x m

) (
or ) cos(
z t j
m
m
e z t

[2-26]

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TE modes in slab waveguide
z
y
number) (mode 3 , 2 , 1 , 0
) cos( ) ( e ) , , , (

m
z t y f t z y x E
m m x m

Optical Fiber communications, 3

rd
ed.,G.Keiser,McGrawHill, 2000

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Modes in slab waveguide

The order of the mode is equal to the # of field zeros across the guide. The
order of the mode is also related to the angle in which the ray congruence
corresponding to this mode makes with the plane of the waveguide (or axis
of the fiber). The steeper the angle, the higher the order of the mode.

For higher order modes the fields are distributed more toward the edges of
the guide and penetrate further into the cladding region.

Radiation modes in fibers are not trapped in the core & guided by the
fiber but they are still solutions of the Maxwell eqs. with the same
boundary conditions. These infinite continuum of the modes results from
the optical power that is outside the fiber acceptance angle being refracted
out of the core.

In addition to bound & refracted (radiation) modes, there are leaky modes
in optical fiber. They are partially confined to the core & attenuated by
continuously radiating this power out of the core as they traverse along the
fiber (results from Tunneling effect which is quantum mechanical
phenomenon.) A mode remains guided as long as k n k n
1 2
< <

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Optical Fibers: Modal Theory (Guided or
Propagating modes) & Ray Optics Theory
1
n
2
n
2 1
n n >
Step Index Fiber
Optical Fiber communications, 3
rd
ed.,G.Keiser,McGrawHill, 2000

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Modal Theory of Step Index fiber

General expression of EM-wave in the circular fiber can be written as:

Each of the characteristic solutions is

called mth mode of the optical fiber.

It is often sufficient to give the E-field of the mode.

m
z t j
m m
m
m m
m
z t j
m m
m
m m
m
m
e r V A t z r H A t z r H
e r U A t z r E A t z r E
) (
) (
) , ( ) , , , ( ) , , , (
) , ( ) , , , ( ) , , , (

[2-27]
) , , , ( & ) , , , ( t z r H t z r E
m m


1,2,3... m ) , (
) (

z t j
m
m
e r U

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The modal field distribution, , and the mode

propagation constant, are obtained from solving the
Maxwells equations subject to the boundary conditions given
by the cross sectional dimensions and the dielectric constants of
the fiber.

Most important characteristics of the EM transmission along the fiber are

determined by the mode propagation constant, , which depends on
the mode & in general varies with frequency or wavelength. This quantity
is always between the plane propagation constant (wave number) of the
core & the cladding media .
) , ( r U
m

) (
m

k n k n
m 1 2
) ( < <
[2-28]

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At each frequency or wavelength, there exists only a finite number of

guided or propagating modes that can carry light energy over a long
distance along the fiber. Each of these modes can propagate in the fiber
only if the frequency is above the cut-off frequency, , (or the source
wavelength is smaller than the cut-off wavelength) obtained from cut-off
condition that is:

To minimize the signal distortion, the fiber is often operated in a single

mode regime. In this regime only the lowest order mode (fundamental
mode) can propagate in the fiber and all higher order modes are under cut-
off condition (non-propagating).

Multi-mode fibers are also extensively used for many applications. In

these fibers many modes carry the optical signal collectively &
simultaneously.
c

k n
c m 2
) (
[2-29]

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Fundamental Mode Field Distribution
Optical Fiber communications, 3
rd
ed.,G.Keiser,McGrawHill, 2000
Polarizations of fundamental mode
Mode field diameter

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Different Structures of Optical Fiber
Optical Fiber communications, 3
rd
ed.,G.Keiser,McGrawHill, 2000

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Mode designation in circular cylindrical
waveguide (Optical Fiber)
: modes EH Hybrid
: modes HE Hybrid
: modes TM
: modes TE
lm
lm
lm
lm The electric field vector lies in transverse plane.
The magnetic field vector lies in transverse plane.
TE component is larger than TM component.
TM component is larger than TE component.
l= # of variation cycles or zeros in direction.
m= # of variation cycles or zeros in r direction.

x
y
r
z

Linearly Polarized (LP) modes in weakly-guided fibers ( ) 1

2 1
<< n n
) HE TM TE ( LP ), HE ( LP
0 0 0 1 1 0 m m m m m m
+ +
Fundamental Mode:
) HE ( LP
11 01

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Two degenerate fundamental modes in Fibers
(Horizontal & Vertical Modes)
11
HE
Optical Fiber communications, 3
rd
ed.,G.Keiser,McGrawHill, 2000

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Mode propagation constant as a function of frequency

Mode propagation constant, , is the most important transmission

characteristic of an optical fiber, because the field distribution can be
easily written in the form of eq. [2-27].

In order to find a mode propagation constant and cut-off frequencies of

various modes of the optical fiber, first we have to calculate the
normalized frequency, V, defined by:
) (
lm

NA
2 2
2
2
2
1

a
n n
a
V
[2-30]
a: radius of the core, is the optical free space
wavelength,
are the refractive indices of the core & cladding.

2 1
&n n

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Plots of the propagation constant as a function of normalized
frequency for a few of the lowest-order modes

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Single mode Operation

The cut-off wavelength or frequency for each mode is obtained from:

Single mode operation is possible (Single mode fiber) when:

2
) (
2 c 2
2
c
n n
k n
c
c lm

[2-31]
405 . 2 V
[2-32]
fiber optical along faithfully propagate can HE Only
11

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Single-Mode Fibers

Example: A fiber with a radius of 4 micrometer and

has a normalized frequency of V=2.38 at a wavelength 1 micrometer. The
fiber is single-mode for all wavelengths greater and equal to 1 micrometer.
MFD (Mode Field Diameter): It is an important parameter for single
mode fiber.

This parameter can be determined from the mode-field distribution of

the fundamental fiber mode.
The electric field of the first fundamental mode can be written as:

min or frequency max @ 2.4 to 2.3 V
; m 12 to 6 ; 1% to % 1 . 0

a
498 . 1 & 500 . 1
2 1
n n
0
2
0
2
0
2 MFD ); exp( ) ( W
W
r
E r E
[2-33]

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Birefringence in single-mode fibers
Because of asymmetries the refractive indices for the two degenerate modes (vertical
& horizontal polarizations) are different. This difference is referred to as
birefringence, :
f
B
x y f
n n B [2-34]
Optical Fiber communications, 3
rd
ed.,G.Keiser,McGrawHill, 2000

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Fiber Beat Length

In general, a linearly polarized mode is a combination of both of the

degenerate modes. As the modal wave travels along the fiber, the
difference in the refractive indices would change the phase difference
between these two components & thereby the state of the polarization of
the mode. However after certain length referred to as fiber beat length, the
modal wave will produce its original state of polarization. This length is
simply given by:
f
p
kB
L
2

[2-35]

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Multi-Mode Operation

Total number of modes, M, supported by a multi-mode fiber is

approximately (When V is large) given by:

Power distribution in the core & the cladding: Another quantity of

interest is the ratio of the mode power in the cladding, to the total
optical power in the fiber, P, which at the wavelengths (or frequencies) far
from the cut-off is given by:
2
2
V
M
[2-36]
clad
P
M
P
P
clad
3
4

[2-37]

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Graded Index Fiber (GIN)

The most commonly used GIN have the index variation of

core as the power law given by

No. of bounded modes in GIN fibr is

( ) ( ) a r for 1 2 1 ) (
a r 0 for 2 1 ) (
2 1
2
1
1
2
1
1


1
1
]
1

,
_

n n n r n
a
r
n r n

2 2 2
2
2
1
2 2
V
n k a M
g
+

+

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The mode field is defined as the distance between the points where the
strength of the electric field is decayed to 0.37 (1/e) of the peak.

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Intentionally Left Blank

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FIBER MATERIALS
In selecting materials following requirements must be satisfied
1. It must b possible to make long, thin, flexible fibers fro the material
2. The material must be transparent at a particular wavelength in order for the fiber to
guide light effectively.
3. Physically compatible materials that have slightly different refractive indices for
the core and cladding must be available
Materials that satisfy these requirements are glasses and plastics

Usually fibers are made of glass consisting of either silica SiO

2
or silicate
Moderate loss fibers with large cores used for short-transmissions
Low loss (very transparent) fibers are used for long-haul applications
Plastics have higher attenuation than the glass fibers
Plastic fibers are used in short distance fibers where more mechanical
stresses are possible

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Glass Fibers
Glass is made by fusing metal oxide, sulfides or selenides.
The resulting material is a randomly connected molecular network
called glass.
Glasses do not have well defined melting points
Melting point is defined as the temperature at which glass becomes
fluid enough to free itself of glass bubbles.
The largest category for optical fibers consists of oxide glasses.
The most common of these oxides is the silica SiO
2
which has
refractive index of 1.458 at 850nm
Fluorine or various oxides such as B
2
O
3
, GeO
2
, or P
2
O
5
can be
doped to slightly change the refractive index for the cladding

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Plastic material

Plastic fibers are more economical over short distances for

slower speeds.

Plastic fiber has poor optical qualities as compared to glass.

The cost and performance of plastic-clad Silica fiber is a

compromise between the all-glass and all plastic fibers.

Plastic-Clad Silica Fiber.

The above fiber uses a high quality glass core, clad

with a low cost plastic sheathing.

Midway Solution

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Since the cladding must

have a lower refractive index
as compared to the core so
we can chose the following
options for the doped
materials
1. GeO
2
SiO
2
, core; SiO
2
cladding
2. P
2
O
5
-SiO
2
, core; SiO
2
cladding
3. SiO
2
core; B
2
O
3
-SiO
2
cladding
4. GeO-B
2
O
3
-SiO
2
core; B
2
O
3
-SiO
2

cladding
Here the notation GeO
2
SiO
2
denotes a GeO
2
doped silica
glass

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Properties of pure silica glass

Pure silica is referred as silica glass, fused glass

or vitreous silica

Offer high resistance to deformation at high

temperature as 1000
o
C

High resistance to breakage from thermal shock

because of its low thermal expansion

Good chemical durability

High transparency in both the visible and infra-

red region

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ACTIVE GLASS FIBERS

Incorporating rare earth elements (atomic

numbers 57 - 71) converts normal passive glass
fiber into new materials with new optical and
magnetic properties.

The new materials perform amplification,

attenuation and phase retardation on the
passing light

Doping can be carried out for silica, tellurite and

halide glasses

Commonly used materials are Erbium and

Neodymium

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Plastic Optical Fibers

High demand for delivering high speed services to the work station
require high bandwidth graded index polymer (plastic) optical fibers
(POF).
POFs are used within the premises of user.
Fiber with core of polymethylmethacrylate referred as (PMMA POF)
Fiber with core of perfluorinated polymer is referred as PF POF
POFs have greater attenuation as compared to glass fibers.
POFs are tough and durable as compared to glass fibers
Modulus is two order of magnitude smaller than the glass fiber so
flexible to install.
Compared with glass fiber the core diameter is 10 20 times larger
Inexpensive plastic injection moulding technologies can be used to
fabricate connectors, splices and transceivers

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Photonic Crystal Fibers (PCF)

Demonstrated in 1990, initially called holy fiber and later

called Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF)

It has air holes run along the entire length of the fiber

Sometimes air holes act as cladding known as Index-

Guiding PCF

Another form uses the band gap effect between the core
as air holes and cladding known as photonic band gap
fibers

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Fiber Fabrication
There are two basic techniques for fiber fabrication
Vapor-phase oxidation process
Direct melt methods
Direct melt methods :

Traditional glass making procedure , fibers are made from molten

state of purified silicate glass.
Vapor-phase oxidation process:
Highly pure vapors of metal halides (SiCl
4
and GeCl
4
) react with
oxygen to form a white powder (SiO
2
).

These particles are collected at the surface of the bulk glass by one
of the four processes.

These rods are then sintered and called preforms.

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The preforms are around 10
25mm in dia and 60 120cm long
Fibers are made from this preform
using the fiber drawn equipment
Drawing furnace bring it to the
temperature where tip becomes
soft and can be pulled through
take-up drum
Thickness depend on the speed of
the drum
Finally it is coated with the elastic
material for protection
Fiber Drawing
apparatus

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Outside Vapor-phase oxidation

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Vapor-Phase Axial Deposition (VAD)

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Modified Chemical Vapor Deposition
(MCVD)

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Plasma Activated Chemical Vapor Deposition
(PCVD)

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Intentionally Left Blank

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Photonic crystal Fibers
Initially this was called holey fiber and later known as photonic
crystal fiber (PCF) or a microstructured fiber.
There are two categories of photonic crystal fibers.
1. Index- Guiding PCF
2. Photonic Bandgap Fiber.

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Natural silicon
dioxide SiO
2
Reduction
Chlorination
Distillation
Silicon Tetrachloride
(SiCl4)
Ultrapure silicon
dioxide SiO
Fine particle mist
with SiO
Oxidation in the
vapor phase
Dry silicon
dioxide SiO
Hydrolysis in the
vapor phase
Dehydration
CO
FeCl
C,Cl
O
HCl
H ,O
Cl
HCl
3
Cl2
2
2 2
2
2
2
2
2
Quartz and quartz mineral sands
Ultra pure silicon dioxide for use in
fiber manufacture and integrated
circuits

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Vertical preform lathe
Horizontal preform lathe

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Mechanical Properties of Fibers
Two basic mechanical characteristics of glass optical
fibers are:
1. Strength
2. Static fatigue
Strength relates to instantaneous failure under an applied
load.
Static fatigue relates to the slow growth of the pre existing
flaws in the glass fiber under humid conditions and tensile
stress.

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Fibers must be able to withstand :
1. Cable manufacturing process
2. Cable installation process
3. In service
1. Stresses
2. Strains
During
Force applied to the fiber can either impulsive or
gradually varying.
Mechanical Properties of Fibers

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Mechanical Properties of Fibers
Under applied stress:

Glass will extend elastically up to its breaking strength.

Metals can be stretched plastically well beyond their true

elastic range
Copper wires can be elongated plastically by more that 20
percent before they fracture.
Glass fibers elongation of only 1 percent are possible before
they fracture occurs.

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Microcrack model
A hypothetical model of a microcrack in an optical fiber

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Mechanical Properties of Fibers
Proof testing:
A high assurance of fiber reliability can be provided by proof
testing.
In this method an optical fiber is subjected to a tensile
load greater than that expected at any time during the
cable manufacturing, installations, and service.
Any fibers that do not pass the proof test are rejected.

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Standard loose buffer tube type

Standard tight buffer (Bound) type

Fiber Ribbon

Classification on Cable Structure Classification on Cable Structure
Optical fiber cable

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Loose buffer tube
*Friction

The primary coated Fiber is laid loosely in a jelly filled

narrow tube to prevent changes in the fibers optical
properties due to
* Pressure
*Tensile stress
* Bends
* Torsion
Classification on Cable Structure Classification on Cable Structure

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Loose buffer tube

Normally, there are only 4-6 fibers per tube.

The tube must conform to the following requirements.

* It must not deform through normal mechanical load.
* It must be durable.
* It must have low friction.
* It must withstand reasonably rough handling during
installation, without changing the fibers optical
properties.
Classification on Cable Structure Classification on Cable Structure

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Area of application

Loose tube fibers have been used very

successfully in all areas of information
transfer.

Used for long distance Networks

Classification on Cable Structure Classification on Cable Structure
Loose buffer tube

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Tight Buffered Fibers Tight Buffered Fibers

The other alternative to protect the primary coated fiber is

achieved by applying a thick layer of plastic directly on the
245-500 m thick primary coated fiber.
Classification on Cable Structure Classification on Cable Structure

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Tight Buffered Fibers
Tight Buffered Fibers
The tight buffer is color-coded according to a standard or
customers specification.
Fiber 125 t 2 m
Primary coated fiber 245-500 m
Color coded layer
900 m
Classification on Cable Structure Classification on Cable Structure

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Area of application

Local Area Networks (LAN) use almost exclusively

tight buffered.

Advantages

Greatest area of application is indoors as connector

cables and rack cables.

Easily terminated with a connector.

They are relatively easy to deal with during installation

Classification on Cable Structure Classification on Cable Structure
Tight Buffered Fibers Tight Buffered Fibers

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Fiber Ribbon Technique

Fiber Ribbon Technique

Third relatively new technique for adding buffer is to lay

several (2-12) primary coated fibers next to each other and then
apply the additional coating.

Three methods for ribbon technique:

* Encapsulating
* Taping
* Edge bonding
Classification on Cable Structure Classification on Cable Structure

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Tapping: initial method

Edge bounding: filling the Acrylate between

the gapes

Encapsulation: A layer of Acrylate is

applied around the fibers
Fiber Ribbon Technique Fiber Ribbon Technique
Classification on Cable Structure Classification on Cable Structure

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The three most common methods of manufacturing fiber ribbon.
Taping
Edge Bonding
Encapsulation

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Breakout Cable (In door)
Simplex Cord
Duplex figure 8 / Zip Cord

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Direct Burried Cable Direct Burried Cable
PE outer sheath
PE inner sheath
Corrugated coated steel tape armour
Central strength member
Jelly filled loose tube
Moisture barrier sheath

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Aerial cable.

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Armored outdoor cable

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A typical range of armor protection cable

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Fiber optic underwater cable

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lightweight deep-water cable.

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Cable Jackets require a veriety of materials to best

serve the environment to be used in.
These materials offer protection from the following
concerns:
1. Mechanical
2. Chemical
3. Thermal
4. Environmental
Cable material

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* Direct burried application.
1. Polyethylene (PE)

A thermoplastic with good chemical and

moisture resistance.
Application
* Aerial
2. Polyurethane (PU)
Application

A polymer with excellent abrasion resistance

and low temperature flexibility.
* Excellent for duct.
Cable material

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* Duct environments
3. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)

A thermoplastic with good flame and abrasion resistance.

Application
* Raceways
4. Teflon.

A fluorocarbon / thermoplastic offers excellent

properties in all cable categories except in radiation
environments.

More costly than other cable material.

Cable material

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Kevlar

It is five times stronger than steel.

Protect fiber from moisture, chemicals and

mechanical stresses placed on cable during
installation, and splicing.

An aramid strength member.

Buffer Jacket (Tube)
Cable material

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Central member

Prevents buckling

Facilitates stranding

Allows cable flexing

Provides temperature stability

Cable material

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Strength member

Aramid Yarns (Kevlar)

Primary tensile load bearing member

Armoring (Burried Cable)

Protection from rodent attack and crushing

forces.

Corrugated steel tape or multiple metal

strands
Cable material

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