Optical Fibre

An optical fibre ( or fiber ) is a glass or plastic

fibre that carries light along its length.
It has two main component layers: A Core &
A Cladding.
Light is kept in th core of optical fibre.
Cladding is for the protection of fibre.

Advantages of Optical fibre.

Thinner than other tubes.
Less expensive
High Carrying Capacity.
Provides a very large Bandwidth
Less signal distortion
Non- flammable
Light Weight

Fibre Optic Disadvantages.

Expensive over short distance.
Very high Installation charges
& demands high skills.
Adding additional nodes is
difficult.

Areas Of Application
Telecommunication
Local Area Networks
Cable TV
CCTV
Optical Fibre Sensors

Optical Fibre Construction

Core: Thin Glass Center of
the fibre where light travels.
Cladding: Outer Optical
Material surrounding the
Core.
Buffer Coating: Plastic
Coating that protects the
Fibre.

Material Used.
The Core , & the lower refractive
index Cladding , are typically made of
high quality silica glass, though they
can be both made of plastic as well.

Fiber Optic Layers.

Consists of three concentric sections.

plastic jacket

glass or plastic
cladding

fiber core

Mode Of Propagation
Two main categories that are used in Fibre
Optic Communications are:
Multi-mode Optical Fibre
Single Mode Optical Fibre

Fibre Optic Cable

Single-mode Fibre:
Carries light pulses
along single path.
Multi-mode Fibre:
Many pulses of light
Generated by LED
At different angles.

Single Mode Fibres

Single-mode fibers used to transmit one signal
per fiber (used in telephone and cable TV). They
have small cores(9 microns in diameter) and
transmit infra-red light from laser.

Multi-mode Fibres
Multi-mode fibers used to transmit many
signals

per

networks).

fiber
They

(used

have

in

computer

larger

cores(62.5

microns in diameter) and transmit infra-red

light from LED.

Index Profile
The boundary between
the core and cladding
may either be abrupt,

in step-index fiber, or
gradual,

in

index fiber.

graded-

Step-Index
A step-index fiber has a central core with a
uniform refractive index. An outside cladding
that also has a uniform refractive index
surrounds the core;
However, the refractive index of the cladding
is less than that of the central core.

Graded-Index
In graded-index fiber, the index of refraction
in the core decreases continuously between
the axis and the cladding. This causes light
rays to bend smoothly as they approach the
cladding, rather than reflecting abruptly from
the core-cladding boundary.

Fiber Optic Communication

It is a method of transmitting information
from one place to another by sending light
through an optical fiber.
The light forms an electromagnetic carrier
wave that is modulated to carry information.

Block Diagram of OFC

Total Internal Reflection

Use of OFC in Railways.

To optimize train scheduling.
Speed measurement.
Signal distribution by FBG.
Traffic light monitoring.