Optical Fiber Communications CH-1 Quiz

Optical Fiber Communications

• Information is sent from one location to another by passing light across an optical fiber, using an electromagnetic carrier wave created by modifying light.

Optical Fiber Communication Link

• Consists of a tiny glass cable, thicker than a human hair, enclosed in a plastic sheath and housed in an insulated cable.
• Light pulses from a photo diode or laser are sent down the optical fiber connection and detected by a photo receptor.

Transmission Window

• Least transmission losses occur in the range from 800 to 1600 nm (optical fiber range).
• Absorption and scattering effects that cause fiber attenuation are lower as wavelength increases.

Advantages of Optical Fibers

• Low transmission loss and wide bandwidth allow for higher repeater spacing (10-50 km), minimizing cost and enabling more data transmission over long distances.
• Small in size and lightweight.
• Provides electrical insulation, eliminating ground loops and sparking/arcing.
• Immune to electromagnetic interference (EMI) since it's a dielectric.
• Abundant raw materials are available (silica in sand).
• Offers high signal security due to the difficulty of tapping the fiber.

Disadvantages of Optical Fibers

• Difficult to handle due to its small size.
• Requires high purity materials.
• Adding additional nodes is challenging.

Applications of Optical Fibers

• Trunk telephone lines.
• Military applications.
• Medical applications.
• Power stations.
• Submarines cables and undersea transmission lines.
• Satellites, aircraft, and space ship computer rooms.