Fiber Optic Technology

Over the years, the telecommunication industry has progressed in speed and efficiency due to a technology called fiber optics.  In 1979, AT&T produced the first fiber optic cable.  It created a medium for data transmission by using light.  It could produce bandwidths of 44,736 Mbps.  However, it was the beginning of a revolution in the telecommunications industry.  

    AT&T introduced the fiber optic cable but was not the first company to think of the idea.  They were exchanging data by the use of light created by Alexander Graham Bell.  He thought of the possibility that light could transmit voice signals but never had a reliable source of light to test the idea.  He created a photophone using optical transmission.  It failed because it uses air instead of light, rather than optic fiber.

    The engineers at Laser Diode Labs created a continuous wave in 1975.  It was considered a significant advancement in the telecommunication industry.  This development was called “erbium-doped fiber” amplifier.  It allowed multiple channels of light to exist on a single circuit.  This fiber optic created enough channels for one cable to handle 80 million phone calls.

    Now the fiber optic transmits data by sending light pulses through thin strands of glass or plastic tubes by way of the laser.  Fiber strands are composed of three main components: the core, cladding and buffer coat.  The innermost part of the thread is called the center. And reflect light pulses to travel with ease through the fiber care.  The buffer serves as a protector of the cladding and core by protecting it from outside elements.

    The glass fibers that compose of the strand based on sand.  The ordinary glass used in windows are too dirty that impurities reduced the signal.  These impurities must remove for long haul use.  Pure glass in not transparent.  Fiber optic loss is less than copper wire; Light pulses can be loss during transmission by s.  First, the pulse is a shorter wavelength that scatters by certain changes within the fiber.  Secondly, a longer wavelength absorbed by atomic vibration within the fiber.

    There are two types of fiber in use: single and multi-mode.  The difference between the two is the size of their core.  Single mode fiber has a diameter of nine.  It is used to transmit light pulses with the wavelength between 1300 10 1500 nanometers.  Its primary purpose is to transmission of sound.  Multi-fiber has a diameter up to 62.5 microns.  It used in web connections and had the wavelength between 856 -1300 nanometers.

    WDM (wave division multiplex) technology is used in fiber optic to diffuse different colors of light into various frequencies so that they can be on the same channel.  Different colors have its frequency.  WDM has sixteen different frequency.

    Fiber optics technology has many benefits.  The main advantage of fiber optic cable over an electrical wire is how the repeaters are spaced.  Electrical systems need a mile for its repeaters, whereas a fiber optic needs repeaters every four to seven miles.  Slow speed system requires repeaters up to 62 miles apart.  Fibers can handle the large volume of calls better than copper wire.  A fiber cable with a diameter of 1.25 can carry 2.3 million voice calls, which more information than a 10-cm copper wire.