Assignment # 3

COMPUTER NETWORKS AND COMMUNICATION

4/12/2018

 Detail note on fiber optics cable

Submitted to:
Sir Owais

Submitted by:
ASAD-UR-REHMAN
Sp16-BCS-010(A)
Q: Write a detailed note on Fiber-Optics and its architecture?

Fiber-Optics:
A technology that uses glass (or plastic) threads (fibers) to transmit data. A
fiber optic cable consists of a bundle of glass threads, each of which is capable of transmitting
messages modulated onto light waves.. Fiber optic cables support much of the world's internet,
cable television and telephone systems.
 Fiber optic cables are less susceptible than metal cables to interference.
 Data can be transmitted digitally (the natural form for computer data) rather than
analogically.
 Fiber optic cables are much thinner and lighter than metal wires.
 Fiber optic cables have a much greater bandwidth than metal cables. This means that they
can carry more data.

Structure:

1. Cladding: Outer optical material surrounding the core that reflects the light back into the
core.
2. Core: Thin glass center of the fiber where the light travels
3. Buffer coating: Plastic coating that protects the fiber from damage and moisture.

Advantages of Fiber Optic Cables:

 Since light can travel much longer distances down a fiber cable without losing its
strength, it lessens the need for signal boosters.

 Fiber optics have a higher capacity. The amount of network bandwidth a fiber cable can
carry easily exceeds that of a copper cable with similar thickness. Fiber cables rated at
10 Gbps, 40 Gbps and even 100 Gbps are standard.

Working of fiber optics

Light travels down a fiber-optic cable by bouncing repeatedly off the
walls. Each tiny photon (particle of light) bounces down the pipe like a bobsleigh going down an
ice run. Now you might expect a beam of light, traveling in a clear glass pipe, simply to leak out
of the edges. But if light hits glass at a really shallow angle (less than 42 degrees), it reflects back
in again—as though the glass were really a mirror. This phenomenon is called total internal
reflection. It's one of the things that keeps light inside the pipe. The other thing that keeps light in
the pipe is the structure of the cable, which is made up of two separate parts. The main part of the
cable—in the middle—is called the core and that's the bit the light travels through. Wrapped
around the outside of the core is another layer of glass called the cladding. The cladding's job is to
keep the light signals inside the core. It can do this because it is made of a different type of glass
to the core. (More technically, the cladding has a lower refractive index.)
 Types of fiber optics
Multimode Fiber

Multimode fiber, the first to be manufactured and commercialized,

simply refers to the fact that numerous modes or light rays are carried simultaneously through the
waveguide. Modes result from the fact that light will only propagate in the fiber core at discrete
angles within the cone of acceptance. This fiber type has a much larger core diameter, compared
to single-mode fiber, allowing for the larger number of modes, and multimode fiber is easier to
couple than single-mode optical fiber. Multimode fiber may be categorized as step-
index or graded-index fiber. Multimode Step-index Fiber

Single-mode Fiber:

Single-mode fiber allows for a higher capacity to transmit information

because it can retain the fidelity of each light pulse over longer distances, and it exhibits no
dispersion caused by multiple modes. Single-mode fiber also enjoys lower fiber attenuation than
multimode fiber. Thus, more information can be transmitted per unit of time. Like multimode fiber,
early single-mode fiber was generally characterized as step-index fiber meaning the refractive
index of the fiber core is a step above that of the cladding rather than graduated as it is in graded-
index fiber. Modern single-mode fibers have evolved into more complex designs such as matched
clad, depressed clad and other exotic structures

Architectures of Fiber-optic Communication Systems

Jacket:
 Usually plastic , PVC etc
 In which determine the mechanical robustness of the cable
Buffer( or coating ):
Protects the fiber optics from Physical damage. Fiber identification
Cladding:
Dielectric material , with index of refraction less then the core material . Made of
glass or plastic
Core:
Light propagation medium Dielectric material (usually glass). Conducts no electricity.