7677677TOPIC: FIBER OPTIC

Table of contents
INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................................2
I- WHAT IS FIBER OPTIC AND WHAT IS TI HISTORY?................................................................3
1- DEFINITION AND DESCRIPTION.............................................................................................3
2- HISTORY.....................................................................................................................................3
II- WHAT IS THE DIFFERENT TYPE OF FIBER OPTIC?...................................................................4
1- SINGLE MODE FIBER OPTIC CABLE.........................................................................................4
2- MULTIMODE FIBER OPTIC CABLE...........................................................................................5
III- WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES AND INCONVENIENCES OF FIBER OPTIC?.........................5
1- THE ADVANTAGES..................................................................................................................5
2- DISADVANTAGES...................................................................................................................7

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INTRODUCTION

Since its invention in the early 1970s, the use of and demand for optical fiber
have grown tremendously. The uses of optical fiber today are quite numerous.
With the explosion of information traffic due to the Internet, electronic
commerce, computer networks, multimedia, voice, data, and video, the need
for a transmission medium with the bandwidth capabilities for handling such
vast amounts of information is paramount. Fiber optics, with its comparatively
infinite bandwidth, has proven to be the solution. In telecommunications, fiber
optic technology has virtually replaced copper wire in long distance telephone
lines, and it used to link computers within local area networks. Our work is
going to bring answers on these questions such as: what is fiber optic and its
history? What are the different types of fiber optic? What are the advantages
and inconveniences of fiber optics?

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 I- WHAT IS FIBER OPTIC AND WHAT IS TI HISTORY?

1- DEFINITION AND DESCRIPTION

An optical fiber in commonwealth English, is a flexible transparent fiber made

by drawings glass or plastic to diameter slightly thicker than that of a human
hair. The term is often associated with the internet and high-speed networks,
but also with medicine. Optical fiber is a both material and a technology.
Physically speaking, it is a long, thin cable made of glass fiber or plastic. Optical
fibers are used most often as means to transmit light between the two ends of
the fiber and find wide usage in fiber optic communications, where permit
transmission over longer distances and at higher bandwidths than electrical
cables.

2- HISTORY

The field of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and
application of fibers id known as fiber optics. The term was coined by Indian-

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American physicist Narinder Sigh Kapany. Daniel Colladon and Jacques
Babinet first demonstrated the guiding of light by refraction the principal that
makes fiber optics possible, in Paris in the early 1840s. John Tyndall include a
demonstration of it in public lectures in London,12years later. Tyndall also
wrote about the property of total internal reflection in an introductory book
about the nature of light in 1870. In 1953, Dutch scientist Bram van Heel first
demonstrated image transmission through bundles of optical fibers with a
transparent cladding. That same year, Harold Hopkins and Narinder Singh at
imperial College in London succeed in making image-Transmitting bundles with
over 10,000 fibers. The first working fiber-optic data transmission system was
demonstrated by German physicist Manfred Borner at Telefunken Research
Labs in ULM in 1965, followed by the first patent application for this technology
in 1966. In 1968, NASA used fiber optics in the television cameras that were
sent to the moon.

II- WHAT IS THE DIFFERENT TYPE OF FIBER OPTIC?

There are two types of fiber optic cables: single mode fiber optic cable and
multimode fiber optic cable.

1- SINGLE MODE FIBER OPTIC CABLE

Fiber optic “mode” refers to the path the light travels through the cable. Single
mode fiber has a smaller core diameter of 9 microns (8.3 microns to be exact).
It allows only one wavelength to pass and has only one path for light, which
greatly reduces light reflections and decreases attenuation. Slightly more

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expensive than its multimode counterparts, single mode fiber optic cable is
often used for long distances network connections.

2- MULTIMODE FIBER OPTIC CABLE

Multimode optical fiber has core with a larger diameter than single mode
optical fiber, which allows transmission of multiple paths and multiple
wavelengths of light. Multimode optical fiber is available in two sizes: 50
microns and 62.5 microns. This cable is commonly used for short distance
connections, including Fiber-to-to Desk (FTTD) applications, connections
between patch panels and equipment, or data and video/audio applications in
local area networks. According to the distribution of the refractive index of
fibers, multimode fiber can be classified into two categories: step-index
multimode fiber and gradient-index multimode fiber

III- WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES AND INCONVENIENCES OF FIBER

OPTIC?

1- THE ADVANTAGES

Optical fiber systems have many advantages over metallic-based

communication systems. These advantages include:
• Long-distance signal transmission the low attenuation and superior signal
integrity found in optical systems allow much longer intervals of signal
transmission than metallic-based systems. While single-line, voice-grade
copper systems longer than a couple of kilometers (1.2 miles) require in-line
signal for satisfactory performance, it is not unusual for optical systems to go

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over100 kilometers (km), or about 62 miles, with no active or passive
processing.
• Large bandwidth, light weight, and small diameter Today’s applications
require an ever-increasing amount of bandwidth. Consequently, it is important
to consider the space constraints of many end users. It is commonplace to
install new cabling within existing duct systems or conduit. The relatively small
diameter and lightweight of optical cable make such installations easy and
practical, saving valuable conduit space in these environments.
• No conductivity Another advantage of optical fibers is their dielectric nature.
Since optical fiber has no metallic components, it can be installed in areas with
Electromagnetic Interference (EMI), including Radio Frequency Interference
(RFI). Areas with high EMI include utility lines, power-carrying lines, and
railroad tracks. All-dielectric cables are also ideal for areas of high lightning-
strike incidence.
• Security
Unlike metallic-based systems, the dielectric nature of optical fiber makes it
impossible to remotely detect the signal being transmitted within the cable.
The only way to do so is by accessing the optical fiber. Accessing the fiber
requires intervention that is easily 3
detectable by security surveillance. These circumstances make fiber extremely
attractive to governmental bodies, banks, and others with major security
concerns.

• Designed for future applications needs Fiber optics is affordable today, as

electronics prices fall and optical cable pricing remains low. In many cases, fiber
solutions are less costly than copper. As bandwidth demands increase rapidly
with technological advances, fiber will continue to play a vital role in the long-

term success of telecommunication.

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 2- DISADVANTAGES

Optical fiber has many advantages but it has also many disadvantages such as:

Low Power: light sources are limited to low power. Although there are high
power transmitters which improve the supply, it would add extra cost.

Brittleness: Optical fiber is quite fragile and more susceptible to damage than
wires. It is best not to twist or bend fiber optic cables.

Distances: The distance between transmitter and receiver should be kept short
or repeaters are needed to amplify the signal.

Last mile is still not totally fiber-used due to costly subscriber premises
equipment and the splicing and testing equipments are very expensive as
compared to copper equipments.

Optical fiber splicing is a specialized technique and needs expertly trained

manpower.

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