1. How
Fiber
Op,cs
Work

2. What
are
Fiber
Op,cs?
Parts:
• Core
• Cladding
• Buffer
coa,ng
types:
• Single-­‐mode
fibers
• Mul,-­‐mode
fibers

3. How
Does
an
Op,cal
Fiber
Transmit
Light?
• total
internal
reflec,on
• degrades
• Diagram
of
total
internal
reflec,on
in
an
op,cal
fiber

4. A
Fiber-­‐Op,c
Relay
System
• TransmiLer
-­‐
Produces
and
encodes
the
light
signals
• Op,cal
fiber
-­‐
Conducts
the
light
signals
over
a
distance
• Op,cal
regenerator
-­‐
May
be
necessary
to
boost
the
light
signal
(for
long
distances)
• Op,cal
receiver
-­‐
Receives
and
decodes
the
light
signals

5. Advantage
of
Fiber
Op,cs
• Less
expensive
• Thinner
• Higher
carrying
capacity
• Less
signal
degrada,on
• Light
signals
• Low
power
• Digital
signals
• Non-­‐flammable
• Lightweight

6. How
Are
Op,cal
Fibers
Made?
1.
Making
a
preform
glass
cylinder
2.
Drawing
the
fibers
from
the
preform
3.
Tes,ng
the
fibers

7. 1.
Making
a
preform
glass
cylinder
The
glass
for
the
preform
is
made
by
a
process
called
modified
chemical
vapor
deposi,on
(MCVD).

8. 2.
Drawing
Fibers
from
the
Preform
Blank
Once
the
preform
blank
has
been
tested,
it
gets
loaded
into
a
fiber
drawing
tower.

9. 3.
Tes,ng
the
fibers
• Tensile
strength
• Refrac,ve
index
profile
• Photo
courtesy
Corning
• Finished
spool
of
op,cal
fiber
• Fiber
geometry
• ALenua,on
• Informa,on
carrying
capacity
(bandwidth)
• Chroma,c
dispersion
• Opera,ng
temperature/humidity
range
• Temperature
dependence
of
aLenua,on
• Ability
to
conduct
light
underwater

10. Physics
of
Total
Internal
Reflec,on
We
will
explain
about
internal
reflec,on
in
an
op,cal
fiber
In
physics.