What are Roles of Optical Fiber in Communication ?
Optical Fiber plays a Revolutionary role in the modern Communication System. Optical Fiber is a medium to transmit light pulses to transfer high-speed data over a few thousands kilometer without major attenuation in the Signal.
Optical Fiber is very thin wire generally made of silica-based pure glass. They are optimized to carry light signals to very long distances with little or no loss in Optical Signal. Optical Fiber is quite thin so they need extra protection. They have three layers core, cladding and outer protective jacket.
Types of Optical Fiber
Generally, Optical Fibers are classified on the basis of the Refractive Index of the material used and mode of propagation of light signals inside the optical fiber.
Single-mode Fiber and Multimode Fiber are the two main types of optical fiber. Single-mode Fiber is quite thinner than Multimode Fiber. Single-mode Fiber is used for long-distance transmission with higher bandwidth. Multimode Fiber is designed in such a way that it can carry multiple light pulses at the same time and so it suffers higher interference and attenuation. Hence they are good for shorter distance signal transmission.
How Optical Fiber Works
Optical Fiber transmits Light signals in an unusual way. From our Primary Study, we know that light travels in straight lines but inside Optical Fiber, light can go through bends, rounds until sharp curves damage the Fiber. It works on the principle of Total Internal Reflection (TIR). In TIR any light beam coming with an angle higher than the Critical angle it gets reflected back in the same medium. This is how an optical fiber guides light beam throughout its length.
Optical Fiber is mainly used in Telecommunication and networking. Optical Fiber can transmit bigger data much faster than copper cable. More of it, Optical Fiber provides high bandwidth which means many channels can be created in a single fiber to transmit different sets of data simultaneously at greater speed. Now in 2020, we all are getting gigabit broadband connections by our ISP. In my case, I using optical-fiber based broadband but still, I am getting 100Mb/s Speed which is way better than our previous statistics.
Not only in Telecommunication, Optical Fibers are also used in Lighting & Decorating ambiance. It is used in Cold lightning to illuminate Historical Monuments to protect it from thermal Degradation. The role of optical fiber in the medical industry is vital. It is used in endoscopy to see inside the body. This provides a better view of the infected organs & ultimately better cure is possible. Private Institutions & Defence also use Optical Fiber to transfer secret data and establish secure and fast communication.