Fiber Optics Technology

Introduction to Optical Fibers.

Fibers of glass Usually 120 micrometers in diameter Used to carry signals in the form of light over distances up to 50 km. No repeaters needed.

Introduction (Cont)
Core thin glass center of the fiber where light travels. Cladding outer optical material surrounding the core Buffer Coating plastic coating that protects the fiber.

Evolution of Fiber
1880 Alexander Graham Bell 1930 Patents on tubing 1950 Patent for two-layer glass wave-guide 1960 Laser first used as light source 1965 High loss of light discovered 1970s Refining of manufacturing process 1980s OF technology becomes backbone of long distance telephone networks in NA.

Advantages of Optical Fibre

Thinner Less Expensive Higher Carrying Capacity Less Signal Degradation& Digital Signals Light Signals Non-Flammable Light Weight

Areas of Application
Telecommunications Local Area Networks Cable TV CCTV Optical Fiber Sensors

Type of Fibers
Optical fibers come in two types: Single-mode fibers used to transmit one signal per fiber (used in telephone and cable TV). They have small cores(9 microns in diameter) and transmit infra-red light from laser. Multi-mode fibers used to transmit many signals per fiber (used in computer networks). They have larger cores(62.5 microns in diameter) and transmit infra-red light from LED.

How Does Optical Fibre Transmit Light??

Total Internal Reflection. Fibre Optics Relay Systems has -Transmitter -Optical Fibre -Optical Regenerator -Optical Receiver

Total Internal Reflection in Fiber

How are Optical Fibres made??

Three Steps are Involved -Making a Preform Glass Cylinder -Drawing the Fibre s from the preform -Testing the Fibre

Testing of Optical Fiber

Tensile Strength Refractive Index Profile Fiber Geometry Information Carrying Capacity Operating temperature/humidity range Ability to conduct light under water Attenuation

Optical Fiber Laying

Mechanical Linking
Includes coupling of two connectors end to end Optical distribution frames allow cross connect fibers from by means of connection leads and optical connectors

Optical Fiber Laying (Cont)

Soldering: This operation is done with automatic soldering machine that ensures: Alignment of fiber s core along the 3 axis Visual display in real-time of the fibers soldering Traction test after soldering (50 g to 500 g)

Optical Fiber Laying (Cont)

Blowing
Used in laying optical cables in roadways. Cables can be blown in a tube high density Poly Ethylene Optical fiber is then blown in the tube using an air compressor which can propel it up to 2 kilometers away.

Implementation of Different LANs

IEEE 802.3 is a working group and a collection of IEEE standards produced by the working group defining the physical layer and data link layer's media access control (MAC) of wired Ethernet.

FOIRL
Fiber optic inter repeater link Defines remote repeaters using fiber optics Maximum length 1000 meters between any two repeaters.

IEEE 802.3 (Cont)

A type of standard for implementing Ethernet networks. 10BaseF is different from other 10-Mbps Ethernet technologies because it uses fiber-optic cabling instead of copper unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) cabling.

10BASEF -

Star topology with hub in the center Passive hub: Short cables - Reliable No cascading Active hum: Synchronous -May be cascaded Do not count as one repeater Any 10BASEF active hub must have at least two FOIRL ports

Token Ring
A Token Ring network is a local area network (LAN) in which all computers are connected in a ring or star topology and a bit- or token-passing scheme is used in order to prevent the collision of data between two computers that want to send messages at the same time.

Token Ring (Cont)

Advantages
Long range Immunity to EMI/RFI Reliability Security Suitability to outdoor applications Small size Compatible with future bandwidth requirements and future LAN standards

Token Ring (Cont)

Disadvantages
Relatively expensive cable cost and installation cost Requires specialist knowledge and test equipment No IEEE 802.5 standard published yet Relatively small installed base.

Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) is a set of ANSI protocols for sending digital data over fiber optic cable. FDDI networks are token-passing (similar to IEEE 802.5 Token Ring protocol) and dual-ring networks, and support data rates of up to 100 Mbps. FDDI networks are typically used as backbones technology because of its support for high bandwidth and great distance.

Fiber Distributed Data Interface -

Stations are connected in a dual ring Transmission rate is 100 mbps Total ring length up to 100s of kms.

Conclusion
This concludes our study of Fiber Optics. We have looked at how they work and how they are made. We have examined the properties of fibers, and how fibers are joined together. Although this presentation does not cover all the aspects of optical fiber work it will have equipped you knowledge and skills essential to the fiber optic industry.