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Fibre Optic Communication

A fibre optic cable is a light pipe that is used to carry a light beam from one place to another. The main uses of this optical fibre cable are :

a) Light is an electromagnetic signal like a radio signal.
b) It can be modulated by information and sent over a the fibre optic cable.
c) The frequencies of light is extremely high, so it can accomodate very wide bandwidths of information.

Fibres can be broadly classified into two types:

1. Terrestrial Fibres
2. Transoceanic fibres

Terrestrial fibre sheaths are normally laid in the ground within a metre of the surface, where as transoceanic fibre sheaths are used is deep water.

List of applications of fibre optic cables:

a) Local and long distance telephone systems.
b) TV studio to transmitter the inter-connection, eliminating microwave radio link.
c) Closed circuit TV stations used in buildings for security.
d) Secure communication system at military bases.
e) Ship-boat communication
f) Aircraft Communication
g) Aircraft control
h) Nuclear Plant.
i) College campus Communication

Benefits / Advantages of fibre optic cable:

Advantage of fibre optic cable
1) Wider bandwidth
2) Lower cost with maximium output
3) Light weight
4) Good strength
5) Small size
6) Cannot be easily tapped as in case of electrical cables
7) No shock hazard as there is no electricity passing through the cable.

Disadvantages of fibre optic cables:

1. Small size
2. They are brittle
3. Production cost is high
4. Costlier due to difficulty in manufacturing
5. Transmission is unidirectional, two way communication requires two fibre optical cables or two frequency band on one fibre.

Fibre optics use cables consisting of one or more hair-thin filaments of glass fibre wrapped in a protective jacket. Fibre optic cables provide substantial size and weight reduction as well as increased speed and greater carrying capacity. A half-inch diameter fibre optic cable can carry upto 50000 channels, compared to about 5500 channels for a standard coaxial cable.

Physically an optical fibre consists of a glass core, a plastic or glass cladding and a protective coating. The core diameter is between 8 and 200 micrometers. The following figures depict (a) side view of a single fibre and (b) end view of a sheath with three fibres.

At the center is the glass core through which the light propagates. In multimode fibres, the core is 50 microns in diameters, about the thickness of a human hair. In single-mode fibres the core is 8 to 10 microns.

The core is surrounded by a glass cladding, with a lower index of refraction than the core, to keep all the light in the core. Next comes thin plastic jacket to protect the cladding. Fibres are typically grouped together in bundles, protected by an outer sheath.

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