Optical fiber is a long thin cylindrical fiber that is made of plastic or glass, that is as small as one tenth of human hair. The standard optical fiber in telecom comprises three layers of cylindrical shape, arranged in the inside as fiber core (diameter 8x10um), the cladding (diameter of 125um) along with buffer coating (diameter 90um).
Fiber core and cladding are composed of silica or glass. The fiber core and the layers of cladding work together to confine the light inside the core without leakage. The fiber buffer coating is constructed out of plastic or acrylic, and gives handling flexibility and physical protection to the fiber.
Optical fibers utilize an optical phenomenon called total internal reflection. When light is injected into the fiber from the end, it becomes confined inside the core without spilling out and losing its energy.
Then, light is digitally modulated to show 1 and 0 , just as a computer. As such, information can be transferred from one site to another, which could be located from San Francisco all the way to New York.
What are fiber optic connectors and how do they work?
Now you understand how optical fibers operate. So what is the fiber optic connector? And what’s its function in a fiber optic telecommunication network?
Simply put A fiber optic connector’s job is similar to an electric power plug It is used to connect light in one part of optical fiber to another segment that is optical.
Since optical fibers are so small that fiber optic connectors need to be made with high precision, and at a scale of 0.1um, which equals one hundredth the human hair.
Fiber optic connectors align two fibers from end to end to ensure that light is able to move from one fiber to another without bouncing off the interface and loss its signal.
Additionally fiber optic connectors, they provide cross connect flexibility for the telecommunication network. So a complicated computer network can be modularized and easy to manage.
Just like any other connectors that are used in electronic industry, electric industry, Dir.kootta.com/site-7637.html or computer industry, numerous types and types of connectors for fiber optics were created during the evolution of the fiber optic communication. Certain types were once extremely popular in the field but have now served their purposes and are disappearing.
The most popular fiber optic connectors used nowadays are SC, ST, LC, FC, MTRJ, SMA and a few of other less popular ones. Sure you will see new connectors invented with the progress of this industry.