光纤的概念和技术简介(英).doc

An Introduction To Fiber Optic ConceptsAnd Technologies Gregory B. Noll Cable Construction There are typically five elements that make up the construction of a fiber optic cable: the optic core, optic cladding, buffer, strength member and outer jacket. The optic core is the light-carrying element at the center of the optical fiber. It is commonly made from a combination of highly purified silica and germania. Surrounding the core is the optic cladding made of pure silica. The combination of these materials makes the principle of total internal reflection possible, as the difference in materials used in the core and the cladding creates an extremely reflective surface at the point in which they interface. Light pulses entering the fiber core reflect off the core/cladding interface and thus remain within the core as they move down the line. Surrounding the cladding is a buffer material which acts as a shock absorber to protect the core and cladding from damage. A strength member, typically Aramid, surrounds the buffer adding critical tensile strength to the cable to prevent damage from pull forces during installation. The outer jacket protects against abrasion and environmental damage. The type of jacket used also defines the cables duty and flammability rating. Rays of light passing through a fiber do not travel randomly. Rather, they are channeled into modes - the thousands of possible paths a light ray may take as it travels down the fiber. A fiber can support as few as one mode and as many as tens of thousands. The number of modes in a fiber is significant because it helps determine the fibers bandwidth. Multimode fiber has a much larger core than singlemode fiber, allowing hundreds of rays of light to propagate through the fiber simultaneously. Singlemode fiber has a much smaller core, allowing only one mode of light to propagate through the core. Paradoxically, the higher the number of modes, the lower the bandwidth of the cable. The reason is dispersion.