Fiber-Optic Technologies

A Brief History of Fiber-Optic Communications—This section discusses the history of fiber optics, from the optical semaphore telegraph to the invention of the first clad glass fiber invented by Abraham Van Heel. Today more than 80 percent of the world's long-distance voice and data traffic is carried over optical-fiber cables.

Fiber-Optic Applications—Telecommunications applications of fiber-optic cable are widespread, ranging from global networks to desktop computers. The Physics Behind Fiber Optics—This section discusses the physics behind the operation of fiber-optic cables.Optical-Cable Construction—This section discusses fiber-optic cable construction. Fiber-optic cables are constructed of three types of materials: glass, plastic, and plastic-clad silica (PCS). Propagation Modes—There are two main modes of fiber-optic propagation: multimode and single mode. These two modes perform differently with respect to both attenuation and chromatic dispersion.

Fiber-Optic Characteristics—Fiber-optic system characteristics include linear and nonlinear characteristics. Linear characteristics include attenuation and interference. Nonlinear characteristics include single-phase modulation (SPM), cross-phase modulation (XPM), four-wave mixing (FWM), stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), and stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS).iber Types—This section discusses various multimode and single-mode fiber types currently used for premise, metro, aerial, submarine, and long-haul applications. Fiber-Optic Cable Termination—Removable and reusable optical termination in the form of metal and plastic connectors plays a vital role in an optical system. Splicing—Seamless permanent or semipermanent optical connections require fibers to be spliced. Fiber-optic cables might have to be spliced together for a number of reasons.

August 20, 2011

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