optical fiber is a thin cylindrical fiber that is made of plastic or glass, smaller than one tenth of the human hair. A typical optical fiber for telecom is made up of three cylindrical layers, counted from the inside out: fiber core (diameter 8~10um), مندوب ألياف بصرية stc الرياض cladding (diameter 125um) as well as buffer layer (diameter 900um).
Fiber core and cladding is made from glass or silica. Fiber Core and cladding layers are used to keep the light inside the core, without losing. The fiber buffer coating is constructed out of plastic or acrylic, and provides handling flexibility and physical protection to the fiber.
Optic fibers make use of an optical phenomenon known as internal reflection. When light is introduced into the fiber from its one end, it’s confined inside the core without leaking outside and losing its energy.
Then, light is digitally modulated to represent the numbers 1 and 0 like a computer, so information can be carried from one location to another site which may be located from San Francisco all the way to New York.
What are fiber optic connectors and what do they do?
You now know the way optical fibers function. So what is the fiber optic connector? And what’s the purpose of the fiber optic telecommunications network?
Simply put The fiber optic connector’s job is similar to that of an electric power plug that relies on light to transmit from one segment that is optical to another segment of optical fiber.
Since optical fibers are small they require fiber optic connectors to be made with high precision, and at a scale of 0.1um that is just one centimeter of the human hair.
Fiber optic connectors are positioned to align two fibers end to end in a way that light can move from one fiber to another without bounce off the interface , and thus losing its signal.
Besides fiber optic connectors, they provide cross connect flexibility to the telecommunications network. Therefore, a computer network that is complex could be made modular and simple to manage.
Similar to other connectors used in electronic industry, electric industry, or computer industry, many different types connected to fiber optic cables were invented in the course of development of the fiber optic communication. Some of them once were highly popular in the market but they have since been used for a variety of purposes, but are now fading away.
The most popular fiber optic connectors in use today are SC, ST, LC, FC, MTRJ, SMA as well as a few lesser-known ones. Sure you will see new connectors developed with the development of the industry.