Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Optical Fiber Core Diameters

TECHNICAL NOTE: Fiber Optic Cable Types

fiber diameters
Optical Fiber Core Diameters
Relative Size Comparison
The center of the fiber, or the Core, plays a big role in the quality and distance the signal can travel through the fiber. Core size is a big factor in how far the signal will travel. In general, the smaller the core the farther the optical signal (light pulse) will go before it needs regenerated.

Later we will get into a bit more detail on Single Mode and Multi-mode Fiber cables but for now understand that Single Mode Fiber has a much smaller core than Multimode Fiber. This smaller core keeps the reflections tighter and on a more direct path thus allowing the optical signal to travel farther.

Standard Fiber Core Sizes
Multimode Fiber Core Size: 50um and 62.5um
Single Mode Fiber Core Size: 8 – 9um
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Note: Core measurement is in microns (um)

In General, Single Mode (SM) fiber is used for long distances or higher bandwidth needs and uses a laser has its light source while Multimode (MM) Fiber uses an LED as its light source and is used for short distances or less bandwidth intensive applications.

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