Glass optical fibers have higher information transmission capacity and lower loss than plastic optical fibers. They are better suited to corrosive or extreme temperature environments. Plastic optical fibers are more flexible and lighter, and can withstand vibration and instability better than glass fibers. Optical fibers are commonly made of glass, large plastic cores, or small plastic cores. Single mode fibers transmit light along a single path for less distortion and higher bandwidth than multimode fibers, which transmit multiple light paths and have larger cores. Step index fibers transmit signals through total internal reflection in a zigzag pattern, while graded index fibers have refractive indexes that decrease radially from the axis.

3. Glass optical fibers have higher
information transmission capacity with
lower loss. They are ideal in corrosive
environments or extreme
temperatures. Plastic optical fibers have
great flexibility and are lighter in weight.
They can withstand vibration and unstable
environments.

4. Plastic optical fibers have great flexibility
and are lighter in weight. They can
withstand vibration and unstable
environments. Optical fibers are most
commonly made of 3 materials: large core
plastic fiber, small core plastic fiber, and
glass fiber.

5. Single Mode (SM) and Multimode (MM)
are the names given to two competing
designs of optical fiber based on how
many paths of light are transmitted along
the fiber core – single mode, meaning “one
path”.

6. A multimode fiber is a fiber supporting
propagation of multiple modes. The cable
has a core diameter of 50-100 microns. It
causes more distortion and gives less
bandwidth than single-mode (monomode)
fiber.

7. Step index optical fiber describes any optical
fiber which is designed to transmit signals
in the step–index pattern, that is, on the
basis of total internal reflection whereby the
light ray propagates in a zig-zag manner.

8. A graded-index or gradient-index fiber is an
optical fiber whose core has a refractive
index that decreases with increasing
radial distance from the optical axis of
the fiber.