FIBRE OPTIC CABLES

WHAT IS FIBRE OPTICS?

• Fibre optics is a technology that works by
sending information coded in a beam of light
down a glass or plastic pipe.
• It was originally developed for endoscopes in
the 1950s to help doctors see inside the
human body without having to cut it open first
 WHAT IS FIBRE OPTICS?
• In the 1960s, engineers found a way of using
the same technology to transmit telephone
calls at the speed of light (186,000 miles or
300,000 km per second).
 OPTICAL FIBRES
• Fiber optics (optical fibers) are long, thin
strands of very pure glass about the diameter
of a human hair.
• They are arranged in bundles called optical
cables and used to transmit light signals over
long distances.
 OPTICAL FIBRE DESIGN
• Although reference is made of glass, optical
fibres are made from three materials namely:
– Glass
– Plastic
– Plastic-clad silica (PCS)
 OPTICAL FIBRE DESIGN
• A single optical fibre
consists of the following
parts
– Core
– Cladding
– Buffer coating
 OPTICAL FIBRE DESIGN
• Core - Thin glass center of the fiber where the
light travels
• Cladding - Outer optical material surrounding
the core that reflects the light back into the
core. Generally made of glass
 OPTICAL FIBRE DESIGN
• Buffer coating - Plastic (UV curable urethane
acrylate) coating protects the fiber from
damage and moisture.
 OPTICAL FIBRE TYPES
• Optical fibres come in two distinct types:
– Single mode fibres – These have small cores (about
3.5 x 10-4 inches or 9 microns in diameter)

– Multi-mode fibers – These have larger cores (about

2.5 x 10-3 inches or 62.5 microns in diameter)

Note: 1 micron = 0.000001 meter or millionth of 1 metre

 OPTICAL FIBRE TYPES
• Reference is also made to a third type of
optical fibre called plastic optical fibres (POF)
Multimode and Single Mode Fibers
COMPARISON BETWEEN SINGLE
MODE AND MULTI-MODE FIBRES
Single Mode vs Multimode
 Single Mode Fiber 8.3/125/250

Mode-field diameter is a measure of the spot size or beam width of light

propagating in a single-mode fiber. Mode-field diameter is a function of
source wavelength, fiber core radius, and fiber refractive index profile
Multimode Fiber 62.5/125/250
Multimode Fiber 50/125/250
OPTICAL FIBRE DESIGN
Optical Fibre
 EFFECTS OF CHANGING MEDIUM ON
LIGHT
• When light travels from one medium to
another medium both its speed and direction
may change.
 Partial Refraction
• Light in air passes into the
glass surface where it is
partly reflected and partly
transmitted into the glass.

• The direction of the

transmitted ray is changed
at the air/glass surface.

• The angle of refraction r is

less than the angle of
incidence i.
PARTIAL REFRACTION
 Index of Refraction
The ratio of the speed of light in vacuum (empty space) to
the speed of light in that material:

n = c/v

n is the index of refraction

v is the speed of light in the material

c is the speed of light in a vacuum (3.00 x 108m/s)

 REFRACTION OF LIGHT
• Light bends towards the normal when the
speed of light in a second medium is less than
the speed of light in the first medium.
REFRACTION OF LIGHT
 REFRACTION OF LIGHT
• Light bends away from the normal when the
speed of light in a second medium is greater
REFRACTION OF LIGHT
 Light in Glass
• Light incident on a glass
plate.
– The reflected part of the
ray is shown along with
the light path for the
refracted component

Note: Incident ray is the ray

moving toward the
surface
 SNELL’S LAW
• Snell’s Law is the relationship between the
angles of incidence and refraction and the
indices of refraction of the two media
• Snell's law applies to the refraction of light in
any situation, regardless of what the two
media are
SNELL’S LAW
LIGHT IN GLASS
 TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION
• Total internal reflection is an optical
phenomenon that occurs when a ray of light
strikes a medium boundary at an angle larger
than the critical angle with respect to the
normal to the surface.
 PHYSICS OF TOTAL INTERNAL
REFLECTION
• When light passes from a medium with one
index of refraction (m1) to another medium
with a lower index of refraction (m2), it bends
or refracts away from an imaginary line
perpendicular to the surface (normal line)
• As the angle of the beam through m1
becomes greater with respect to the normal
line, the refracted light through m2 bends
further away from the line
 PHYSICS OF TOTAL INTERNAL
REFLECTION
• At one particular angle (critical angle), the
refracted light will not go into m2, but instead
will travel along the surface between the two
media (sine [critical angle] = n2/n1 where n1
and n2 are the indices of refraction [n1 is
greater than n2]).
 PHYSICS OF TOTAL INTERNAL
REFLECTION
• If the beam through m1 is greater than the
critical angle, then the refracted beam will be
reflected entirely back into m1 (total internal
reflection), even though m2 may be
transparent!
 PHYSICS OF TOTAL INTERNAL
REFLECTION
• In physics, the critical angle is described with
respect to the normal line. In fiber optics, the
critical angle is described with respect to the
parallel axis running down the middle of the
fiber. Therefore, the fiber-optic critical angle =
(90 degrees - physics critical angle).
 PHYSICS OF TOTAL INTERNAL
REFLECTION
• In an optical fiber, the light travels through the
core (m1, high index of refraction) by
constantly reflecting from the cladding (m2,
lower index of refraction) because the angle of
the light is always greater than the critical
angle.
 PHYSICS OF TOTAL INTERNAL
REFLECTION
• Light reflects from the cladding no matter
what angle the fiber itself gets bent at, even if
it's a full circle
• Because the cladding does not absorb any
light from the core, the light wave can travel
great distances
Fiber Optic Internal Reflection
 Optical Fiber Quick Notes
• Uses light pulses instead of electrical signals
• Core & Cladding are composed of glass
• Coating is UV curable urethane acrylate
• Typical Cladding diameter is 125 µm
• Typical Coating diameter is 250 µm
• Core diameter defines fiber type
• n1 of the core > n2 of the cladding
Factors Affecting Optical Fibre
Performance
 Definitions
• Decibel (dB)
– dB relates to human sensory recognition to
changes in sound or light intensity, which is in
factors of 10
– dB defines the level of gain (+dB) or loss (-dB) of
transmitted signal power (P2) compared to a
reference power value (Pref)
– Expressed as: dB = 10log (P2 / Pref)
– If P2 = Pref, then dB = 0 (no power lost or gained)
 Definitions
• Attenuation
– The reduction in transmitted signal power through a
medium. Expressed in dB, dBm, or dB/km for a length of
optical fiber
• Insertion loss
– The reduction of transmitted signal power measured
through an interconnect system
• Measured in dB or dBm
• Specification is 0.75dB for a typical mated fiber connector pair
• Return Loss
– Measure of the back-reflected signal power relative to
the inputsignal power
• Measured in dB or dBm. High return loss is desired.
 Definitions
• Mode
– A bundle of light rays traveling in one direction in a
medium
• Modal Dispersion
– The distortion of transmitted signal due to time delay
between different modes of the signal
• Chromatic Dispersion
– The distortion of transmitted signal due to time delay
between different wavelengths within the signal
• Physical Contact (PC)
– The forceful contact between two polished fibers in a
mated pair connection
 Wavelength
• Wavelength is the distance between identical
points in the adjacent cycles of a waveform
signal propogated in space or along a wire
Attenuation
Sources of Attenuation
Dispersion or Pulse Broadening
A TYPICAL FIBRE OPTIC SYSTEM

Basic elements of an optical fibre transmission link

 ELEMENTS OF OPTICAL FIBER
TRANSMISSION LINK
• Light Source – Laser or LED capable of
generating an optical signal at desired
frequencies
• Drive Circuit – Means of Modulating the
output light beam from the laser or LED. The
envelope of the modulated beam has the
same wave shape as the electrical signal to be
transmitted.
 ELEMENTS OF OPTICAL FIBER
TRANSMISSION LINK
• Transmission medium – A cable providing
mechanical and environmental protection to
the hair thin optical fibre. Optical signal is
launched into the optical fibre contained in
the cable
 ELEMENTS OF OPTICAL FIBER
TRANSMISSION LINK
• Receiver – This has as its main component a
photo-detector that is capable of converting
the received modulated wave back to the
original signal.
 ELEMENTS OF OPTICAL FIBER
TRANSMISSION LINK
• Electronic amplifier and signal restorer – The
amplifier and restorer consisting of signal
processor circuits recover the original signal
and present it in a suitable form.
 LIGHT SOURCES AND WAVELENGTH
• Infrared laser light (wavelength = 1,300 to
1,550 nanometers) – Single mode fibers
• Infrared light from light-emitting diodes
(LEDs)(wavelength = 850 to 1,300 nm) –
Multimode fibers
 Why Install Fiber Optics
• Low Signal Loss
• High Bandwidth
• Not Affected by EMI or RFI
• Small Size
• Lightweight
Why Install Fiber Optics
FIBRE OPTIC CABLE
 FIBRE OPTIC CABLE
• An optical fiber cable or fibre optic cable is a
cable containing one or more optical fibers
• There are two basic designs
– Loose Tube – Used in many outside plant
installations.
– Tight Buffered – Used mainly inside buildings
 Loose Tube Fibre Optic Cable
• The modular design of
loose-tube cables
typically holds up to 12
fibers per buffer tube
with a maximum per
cable fiber count of
more than 200 fibers.
 Loose Tube Fibre Optic Cable
• The modular buffer-
tube design permits
easy drop-off of groups
of fibers at intermediate
points, without
interfering with other
protected buffer tubes
being routed to other
locations
 Loose Tube Fibre Optic Cable
• The loose-tube design
also helps in the
identification and
administration of fibers
in the system
• Loose-tube cables can
be all-dielectric or
optionally armored
 Loose Tube Fibre Optic Cable
• In a loose-tube cable
design, color-coded
plastic buffer tubes
house and protect
optical fibers
• A gel filling compound
impedes water
penetration.
 Loose Tube Fibre Optic Cable
• Loose-tube cables typically are used for
outside-plant installation in aerial, duct and
direct-buried applications. They come in two
designs namely:
– Stranded loose tube
– Uni or central tube
Loose Tube Cables
 Tight Buffered Cable
• With tight-buffered
cable designs, the
buffering material is in
direct contact with the
fiber
 Tight Buffered Cable
• This design is suited for
"jumper cables" which
connect outside plant
cables to terminal
equipment, and also for
linking various devices
in a premises network
 Tight Buffered Cable
• Multi-fiber, tight-
buffered cables often
are used for intra-
building, risers, general
building and plenum
applications
• Yarn strength members
keep the tensile load
away from the fiber
 Tight Buffered Cable
• The tight-buffered
design provides a
rugged cable structure
to protect individual
fibers during handling,
routing and
connectorization
 Tight Buffered Cable
• Tight bufferd cables also come in two designs
namely
– Distribution style
– Breakout style
Tight Buffered Cable
 Colour coding of Fibre Optic Cable
Jacket
• Fibre optic cables are often colour coded
• For data center premise cables, the jacket
color depends on the fiber type in the cable
– For cables containing single mode fibers, the
jacket color is typically yellow
– For cables containing multimode fibers, the jacket
color is typically orange
• For outside plant cables, the standard jacket
color is typically black
FIBRE OPTIC COLOUR CODE