Fiber Optic Fundamentals

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Fiber Optic Fundamentals

• Prepared for
• The Handbook of Fiber Optic Data Communication
• Third Edition
• Dr. Casimer DeCusatis
• IBM Corporation

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Key Concepts

• Brief History of Optical Fiber Technology
• Multimode and Single-mode Fiber
• Basic Fiber Optic Link Concepts and Applications
  to the Computer Industry

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Optical fiber vs Copper
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Challenges Connectivity and Interoperability
Newer technologies involving higher datarates,
smaller form factors, higher port densities,
pluggability, and parallel links are showing an
increased need to focus on connectivity and
interoperability issues
Transceiver
Fiber Optic Cable
Transceiver
Electrical Connector
Electrical Connector
Optical Connector
Optical Connector
Optical Port
Optical Port
A failure anywhere along this link will cause the
entire link to fail
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Conclusions

• Historically, the fundamental concepts of fiber
  optics date back to 1927
• Multimode fibers use a core diameter of either 50
  or 62.5 microns
• Short wavelength lasers
• Shorter distances (few hundred meters)
• Single-mode fibers use a core diameter of 9-10
  microns
• Long wavelength lasers
• Longer distances (several kilometers)
• A basic link is composed of optical transceivers,
  cables, and connectors
• Fiber optics is widely used for both voice and
  data communication, and is gradually becoming a
  more fundamental part of future computer
  architectures