Optical Fiber

Cables

BY:Rohan N
What are Fiber Optics?
• Fiber optics (optical fibers) are long, thin strands
of very pure glass about the diameter of a human
hair. They are arranged in bundles called optical
cables and used to transmit light signals over long
distances.
•
Parts of a single optical fiber
If you look closely at a single optical fiber, you will
see that it has the following parts:
• Core - Thin glass center of the fiber where the
light travels
• Cladding - Outer optical material surrounding the
core that reflects the light back into the core
• Buffer coating - Plastic coating that protects the
fiber from damage and moisture
• Hundreds or thousands of these optical fibers are
arranged in bundles in optical cables. The bundles
are protected by the cable's outer covering, called
a jacket.
• Optical fibers come in two types:
• Single-mode fibers
• Multi-mode fibers
• Single-mode fibers have small cores (about 3.5 x
10-4 inches or 9 microns in diameter) and transmit
infrared laser light (wavelength = 1,300 to 1,550
nanometers). Multi-mode fibers have larger
cores (about 2.5 x 10-3 inches or 62.5 microns in
diameter) and transmit infrared light (wavelength =
850 to 1,300 nm) from light-emitting diodes
(LEDs).
ADVANTAGES OF
OPTICAL FIBER
ADVANTAGES OF FIBER OPTICS
Less expensive - Several miles of optical cable can be made cheaper than equivalent
lengths of copper wire. This saves your provider (cable TV, Internet) and you money.
Thinner - Optical fibers can be drawn to smaller diameters than copper wire.
Higher carrying capacity - Because optical fibers are thinner than copper wires, more
fibers can be bundled into a given-diameter cable than copper wires. This allows more
phone lines to go over the same cable or more channels to come through the cable into
your cable TV box.
Less signal degradation - The loss of signal in optical fiber is less than in copper wire.
Light signals - Unlike electrical signals in copper wires, light signals from one fiber do
not interfere with those of other fibers in the same cable. This means clearer phone
conversations or TV reception.
Low power - Because signals in optical fibers degrade less, lower-power transmitters
can be used instead of the high-voltage electrical transmitters needed for copper wires.
Again, this saves your provider and you money.
Digital signals - Optical fibers are ideally suited for carrying digital information, which is
especially useful in computer networks.
Non-flammable - Because no electricity is passed through optical fibers, there is no fire
hazard.
Lightweight - An optical cable weighs less than a comparable copper wire cable. Fiber-
optic cables take up less space in the ground.
Flexible - Because fiber optics are so flexible and can transmit and receive light, they
are used in many flexible digital cameras for the following purposes:
Medical imaging - in bronchoscopes, endoscopes, laparoscopes
Mechanical imaging - inspecting mechanical welds in pipes and engines (in
airplanes, rockets, space shuttles, cars)
Plumbing - to inspect sewer lines
 Fiber

Fiber, is hair-thin strand of glass or plastic fiber. The light is "guided" down the center of the fiber called the
"core". The core is surrounded by a optical material called the "cladding" that traps the light in the core using
an optical technique called "total internal reflection." The core and cladding are usually made of ultra-pure
glass, although some fibers are all plastic or a glass core and plastic cladding. The fiber is coated with a
protective plastic covering called the "primary buffer coating" that protects it from moisture and other
damage. More protection is provided by the "cable" which has the fibers and strength members inside an
outer covering called a "jacket".
Multimode & Singlemode Fibers
Relative Core/Cladding Size
 Fiber Types and Typical Specifications
Applications/
Core/Cladding Attenuation Bandwidth
Notes
Multimode Graded-Index
  @850/1300 nm @850/1300 nm  
Laser-rated for GbE
50/125 microns 3/1 dB/km 500/500 MHz-km
LANs
Optimized for 850 nm
50/125 microns 3/1 dB/km 2000/500 MHz-km
VCSELs
Most common LAN
62.5/125 microns 3/1 dB/km 160/500 MHz-km
fiber
100/140 microns 3/1 dB/km 150/300 MHz-km Obsolete
Singlemode
  @1310/1550 nm    
HIGH! Telco/CATV/long high
8-9/125 microns 0.4/0.25 dB/km
~100 Terahertz speed LANs
Multimode Step-Index
  @850 nm @850 nm  
200/240 microns 4-6 dB/km 50 MHz-km Slow LANs & links
POF (plastic optical fiber)
  @ 650 nm @ 650 nm  

1 mm ~ 1 dB/m ~5 MHz-km Short Links & Cars

 TYPES OF CABLES

• Tight-buffer
• Ribbon
• Loose-Tube
 Loose-Tube and Tight-Buffer
• A cable has:
– Optical fiber (core, cladding, and coating)
– Buffer (loose or tight)
– Kevlar strength member
– Outer Jacket
Tight-Buffer
Cable

• PVC Buffer is extruded directly onto the coating

– Diameter is 900 microns
– Makes cable more flexible
– Easier to terminate
– The most common indoor cable type
– Not good for outside use
• Because the buffer strains the fiber as temperature
fluctuates, increasing attenuation
 Ribbon cable
• Dozens of fibers packed
together
• Can be mass fusion spliced or
mass terminated
 Standard Cable Types
• Simplex and Zipcord
• Distribution
• Breakout
• Loose-tube
• Hybrid or Composite
 Simplex and Zipcord
• Used For:
– Patch Cables
– Short Run Office
Cabling
– Test Equipment
 Distribution Cables
• Distribution Cable
– Several tight-buffer
fibers
– Kevlar reinforcement
(Aramid)
– One jacket
 Distribution Cables
• Contains tight-buffered
fibers in bundles of up
to 12 each
• Used for Riser and
Office Cabling
• Must be terminated
inside a patch panel or
junction box
 Breakout Cables

• Breakout Cable
– Reinforce each tight-buffer fiber with Kevlar
and jacket it
– Each fiber can be broken out and individually
connectorized
 Loose-Tube Cable
• Used for long distances and outside-plant
• Low attenuation
• Black jacket
• High pulling strength
– Fibers are completely separated from
environment
 Loose-Tube Cable
• Tubes contain gel or absorbent tape to
protect fibers from water
 Loose-Tube Cable
• Fibers must be
terminated with
breakout kits
– Or fusion splicing to
pre-connectorized
pigtails
 Loose-Tube Cable
• Used Outdoor
– Ducts or conduits
– Aerial lashed
– Directly buried
(armored)

• Weather-resistant
 Hybrid or Composite Cables
• Hybrid cable
– Contains both singlemode and multimode fibers
• Composite cable
– Contains both copper wires and fiber optics
• The two terms are often confused
 NEC Requirements for Fire
Safety
• OFC cables have non-current-carrying
conductive elements
– Must be grounded
– Cannot share a raceway with electric power
lines
– Can share with communications lines
• Abandoned cables must be removed
 Choosing a Cable
Cable Type Application Advantages

Tight Buffer Premises Makes rugged patch cords

Distribution Premises Small size for lots of fibers, inexpensive

Rugged, easy to terminate, no hardware

Breakout Premises
needed
Outside
Loose Tube Rugged, gel or dry water-blocking
Plant
Outside
Armored Prevents rodent damage
Plant
Outside
Ribbon Highest fiber count for small size
Plant
 Factors to Consider when
Choosing Cable
• Bandwidth
• Attenuation & Length
• Cost
• Mechanical & UL/NEC Requirements
• Signal loss
• Connectors
• Cable Dimensions & Environment
• Existing systems
INSTALLATION OF
OPTICAL FIBER
 Installing Fiber Optic Cable
• Never pull on the fiber itself
– Pull only from the strength members
– Maximum pulling force 300 lb.
• Never exceed bend radius
– 10 x diameter without tension
– 20 x diameter under tension
 Vertical Installations
• Clamp the cable to distribute weight
evenly
– Every 50 feet indoors
– More often, up to every 3 feet, outdoors
• Fiber migrates down, increasing
attenuation
– Place 1 foot loops at the top of the run,
bottom of run, and every 500 ft in between
Pulling Cables through Conduits
• Loose-buffer cables work best
 Direct Burial
• Armor is desirable to protect the cable
from gophers, construction digging, etc.
• Gel filling is a water barrier
 Aerial Installation
• Supported by
messenger wire, or
• Self-supporting
• OGW (Optical Ground
Wire) cables carry both
electricity and fiber optic
signals
 Blown-in Fiber
• Fiber is blown through
plastic tubes with air
• Faster than pulling
 Color Code for Fiber Optic Cables
Fiber optic cables are terminated using an industry
Blue standard color code.
For cables that consist of more than 12 strands, the
Orange color code repeats itself. Each group of 12 strands is
identified with some other means such as:
Green •multiple buffer tubes each with 12 or less
strands either numbered or colored following
Brown
the same color code, e.g., 1st tube is blue, 2nd
Slate is orange, etc.
•24 strand groups with the color code repeating
White with some variation, e.g., the 1st group of 12
strands are solid colors and the 2nd group are
Red solid colors with a stripe or some other
identifying mark.
Black
The color sequence is illustrated below. It is very
similar to the color code for twisted pair cables
Yellow
except the second group of colors is used first and 2
Violet new colors are added at the end.
Jacket Colors
For outdoor aerial and burial type cables, the jacket color is usually black polyethelene for
Rose both multimode and singlemode cables.
For indoor cables, the outer most cable jacket may be any color but the de facto industry
Aqua standard is:
•Orange for multimode fibers
•Yellow for singlemode fibers
This is also generally true for fiber optic patch cords.
 Table 1- Types Of Optical Connectors

Connector Insertion Loss Repeatability Fiber Type Applications

0.50-1.00 dB 0.20 dB SM, MM Datacom, Telecommunications

FC

0.20-0.70 dB 0.20 dB SM, MM Fiber Optic Network

FDDI

0.15 db (SM)
0.2 dB SM, MM High Density Interconnection
0.10 dB (MM)
LC

0.30-1.00 dB 0.25 dB SM, MM High Density Interconnection

MT Array

0.20-0.45 dB 0.10 dB SM, MM Datacom

SC

0.20-0.45 dB 0.10 dB SM, MM Datacom

SC Duplex

Typ. 0.40 dB (SM) Typ. 0.40 dB (SM)

SM, MM Inter-/Intra-Building, Security, Navy
ST Typ. 0.50 dB (MM) Typ. 0.20 dB (MM)
TESTING OF
OPTICAL
FIBER
 Have the right tools and test equipment for the
job. You will need:

1. Source and power meter, optical loss test set or test kit with proper equipment
adapters for the cable plant you are testing.
2. Reference test cables that match the cables to be tested and mating adapters,
including hybrids if needed.
3. Fiber Tracer or Visual Fault Locator.
4. Cleaning materials - lint free cleaning wipes and pure alcohol.
5. OTDR and launch cable for outside plant jobs.
 Sources
Sources are either LED
or laser
•665 nm for plastic
optical fiber
•850 nm or 1300 nm for
multimode
•1310 nm or 1550 nm
for singlemode
Test your system with
a source similar to the
one that will be actually
used to send data
 Optical Loss Test Set

• Power meter and

source in a single unit
– Normally used in pairs
– Automated, more
complex and
expensive than the
combination of a
source and a power
meter
• Rare in field testing
 Power Meters
• The power meter by itself can be
use to measure source power
• With a source, it can measure the
loss of a cable plant, called
insertion loss
• Most power measurements are in
the range +10 dBm to -40 dBm
– Analog CATV (cable TV) or DWDM
(Dense Wavelength Division
Multiplexing) systems can have power
up to +30 dBm (1 watt)
 OTDR
Optical Time-Domain
Reflectometer
 OTDR

An OTDR to locate a break or similar problem in a cable run, or to take a

snapshot of fibers before turning an installation over to a customer. This
snapshot, which is a paper copy of the ODTR trace, gives you a permanent
record of the state of that fiber at any point in time. This can help installers when
fibers have been damaged or altered after installation, proving where
responsibility for the damage lies.
OTDR (optical time domain
reflectometer )
 OTDR Uses
• Measure loss
• Locate breaks, splices, and connectors
• Produces graphic display of fiber status
– Can be stored for documentation and later
reference
• Cable can be measured from one end
 Types of OTDR
• Full-size
– Complex, powerful,
expensive
• Mini-OTDR
– Fewer features
• Fault Finder
– Simplified, shows
distance to a fault
TYPES OF FIBER JOINT :
• OPTICAL FIBER CONNECTOR
• MECHANICAL SPLICE
• FUSION SPLICE
 FUSION
SPLICING
SPLICING
Connector and Splice Loss
Mechanisms
LINK TESTING
Fiber Loss
 What Loss Should You Get When Testing Cables?
While it is difficult to generalize, here are some guidelines:

- For each connector, figure 0.5 dB loss (0.7 max)

- For each splice, figure 0.2 dB
- For multimode fiber, the loss is about 3 dB per km for 850 nm sources, 1 dB per km for
1300 nm. This roughly translates into a loss of 0.1 dB per 100 feet for 850 nm, 0.1 dB
per 300 feet for 1300 nm.
- For singlemode fiber, the loss is about 0.5 dB per km for 1300 nm sources, 0.4 dB per
km for 1550 nm.

This roughly translates into a loss of 0.1 dB per 600 feet for 1300 nm, 0.1 dB per 750
feet for 1300 nm. So for the loss of a cable plant, calculate the approximate loss as:

(0.5 dB X # connectors) + (0.2 dB x # splices) + fiber loss on the total length of

cable
 Optical Fiber Testing
• Before installation
– Test continuity with cable
tracer or VFL
• Measure attenuation with
cutback method
– Cut off
known
length,
measure
power
increase
 Connector Insertion Loss Test

• This test gives the typical loss of a connector

type
 Basic Cable Loss Test
– Measure power through launch cable
– Then add cable to test
• This tests only one connector – turn the cable
around to test the other end
THANK YOU