What is Optical Fiber? Optical fiber is that the technology related to data transmission using light pulses traveling together with a lengthy fiber which is usually made from plastic or glass. Metal wires are favored for transmission in optical fiber communication assigns travel with fewer damages.

Optical fibers are also unaffected by electromagnetic interference. The fiber optic cable uses the application of total internal reflection of light. The components have been designed such that they facilitate the propagation of light along with the optical fiber depending on the requirement of power and distance of transmission.

Single-mode fiber is used for long-distance transmission, whereas multimode fiber is used for shorter distances. The outer cladding of these fibers needs better security than metal wires.

Types of Optical Fiber

The kinds of optical fibers rely on the refractive index, substances used, and mode of propagation of light.

The classification based on the refractive index is as follows:

Step Index Fibers

A step-index profile is a refractive index profile characterized by a uniform refractive index within the core and a sharp reduction in refractive index at the core-cladding interface so that the cladding is obviously a lower refractive index.

Graded Index Fibers

A graded index is an optical fiber whose heart has a refractive index that decreases with increasing radial distance from the optical axis of the fiber. The most common refractive index profile for a graded-index fiber is quite nearly parabolic.

The classification based on the materials used is as follows:

Plastic Optical Fibers

A plastic optical or polymer optical fiber is an optical fiber that’s made from polymer. Similar to glass fiber, POF transmits light through the heart of the fiber. Its main advantage over the glass product, another aspect being equivalent, is its robustness under bending and stretching.

Glass Fibers

Glass fiber is a reinforced plastic substance which is composed of a woven substance that is embedded with glass fibers which are randomly placed across one another and held together with a binding substance. Glass Fiber is blended with resin to form a very strong and durable composite.

The classification based on the mode of propagation of light is as follows:

Single-Mode Fibers

Single-mode fiber is an optical fiber made to carry only a single way of light – the transverse mode. Modes are the possible solutions of the Helmholtz equation for waves, and this is obtained by combining Maxwell’s equations and the boundary conditions.

Multimode Fibers

Multi-mode fiber is a type of fiber mainly used for communicating over short distances, like within a building or on campus. Multi-mode links can be used for data rates up to 100 Gbit/s.

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Working Mechanism of Optical Fiber

Light beams may be used to transmit a massive number of information, but there’s a issue here — that the light rays travel in straight lines. Therefore unless we have a very long straight wire with no bends in any way, harnessing this edge will be quite dull. Rather, the optical cables are made such that they bend all of the light beams’ inwards (utilizing TIR).

Light beams travel frequently, bouncing off the nitric oxide walls and transmitting end to end information. Although mild signs do degrade over progressing distances, based on the purity of the substance used, the reduction is a lot less in comparison to using alloy wires.

Wrapping it up!

Optical fiber is that the technology related to data transmission using light pulses traveling together with a lengthy fiber which is usually made from plastic or glass. Metal wires are favored for transmission in optical fiber communication assigns travel with fewer damages.