An optical fiber or optical fibre is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber and find wide usage in fiber-optic communications, where they permit transmission over longer distances and at higher bandwidths (data rates) than wire cables. Fibers are used instead of metal wires because signals travel along them with less loss; in addition, fibers are immune to electromagnetic interference, a problem from which metal wires suffer excessively. Fibers are also used for illumination and imaging, and are often wrapped in bundles so that they may be used to carry light into, or images out of confined spaces, as in the case of a fiberscope. Specially designed fibers are also used for a variety of other applications, some of them being fiber optic sensors and fiber lasers.

2.  Optical Fiber
 Light Used in Optical Fiber
 Fiber Used
 Why Optical Fiber?
 How It Works?
 Types of Optical Fibers
 Fiber Optic Data Links
 Advantages
 Disadvantages
 Applications

3.  Transmitting
communications
signals over hair thin
strands of glass or
plastic
 Not a "new"
technology
 Concept a century old
 Used commercially
since 1980

4.  Fiber optic systems transmit using
infrared light, invisible to the human
eye, because it goes further in the
optical fiber at those wavelengths.

5.  Glass core with plastic cladding
PCS (Plastic-clad silicon)
 Glass core and glass cladding
SCS (Silica-clad silica)
 Under research (non silicate zinc-
chloride)

6. Fiber is the
least
expensive,
most reliable
method for
high speed &
long distance
communicatio
ns.

7.  The thin glass center of
the fiber where the
light travels is called
the “core”.
 The outer optical
material surrounding
the core that reflects
the light back into the
core is called the
“cladding”.
 In order to protect the
optical surface from
moisture and damage,
it is coated with a layer
of buffer coating.

8. The light in a fiber
optic cable travels
through the core
by constantly
bouncing from the
cladding, a
principle called
Total Internal
Reflection.
Because the
cladding doesn’t
absorb any light
from the core, the
light wave can
travel great
distances.

10. Single Mode Fiber
Multimode Fiber
 Step Index Fiber
 Graded Index Fiber

12.  Only one path for light to pass
 Very small diameter of core.
 Bandwidth up to 40Ghz.
 Mostly used in long distance &
low cost circuit.

13.  Light takes more than one path
to travel.
 Core diameter is 20 to 100
micro meter.
 Usually use for medium
distance & high bandwidth.

15.  Extremely High Bandwidth.
 Longer Distance.
 Resistance to Electromagnetic Interference.
 Low Security Risk.
 Small Size.
 Light Weight.
 Easy to Accommodate Increasing
Bandwidth.

16.  Fragile.
 Difficult to Install.
 Higher Initial Cost in Installation.
 More Expensive to Repair &
Maintain.