subject: How Does Fiber Optics Trasmit Information With Light [print this page] Fiber optics are widely used in fiber optic telecommunication systems which allows the transmission of data over longer distances since it carries a higher bandwidth to homes and offices. The message is sent through thread-like glass fibers using ultra-fast pulses of light. Even though fibers can be made out of translucent plastic, glass, or a comination of the two, but due to the lower optical attenuation, the fiber used in long-distance telecommunications applications are always glass.
Generally, cable TV shows, phone calls, or Internet files travel through copper wire cables in the form of electrical signals. However in a fiber optic system, a transmitter converts these electrical signals into pulses of light which travel along the length of the fiber optic cable until they reach at the end of the line. The receiving end then re-converts the light pulses to electrical signals to turn them back into voice, video, and data files.
But how does an ultra-thin thread of glass carry so much information? Unlike ordinary glass which is not pure enough to allow light to travel very far, fiber optic glass is so pure that almost nothing distorts the light signals traveling down its path. So, fiber optic technology can carry so much data for very long distances - 60 miles or more - before the light signals have to be boosted.
Fiber optics is especially designed to keep the light pulses from being lost out of the fiber by adding a layer of a different material around the inner core of pure glass. Called the cladding, this layer, redirects the light back toward the center and stops it from [escaping]. Added layers of coatings guard the fiber frombends, cracks, etc. that could weaken the light pulses.
The light pulses have to be strong enough and keep their shape long enough so that they don't lose too much data as the travel along the path to sendtransmit data through fiber optics. This is possible through fiber optic light sources: laser diodes and light-emitting diodes, or LEDs.
The laser diodes utilized in fiber optic technology are similar to the ones used in CD and DVD players. Lasers transmit lucid light, meaning all the the light particles, or photons, have exactly the same wavelength. Coherent light pulses keep their shape longer, which means they can operate at faster data speeds with less information loss. Also, laser diodes keep the signal traveling farther before it loses strength. On the other hand, like the tiny green and red lights on computers, LEDs are less powerful than lasers but cheaper to make. They work well enough for short-distance fiber optic networks.
Fiber optic telecommunication systems promise clearer phone calls, quicker Internet connections, and many more standard and HDTV cable channels. Nowadays, a number of multinational companies have changed their communication infrastructure to fiber optics. It's high time that you do too. Whether you need a gigabit converter or SFP transceiver for your networks, just make sure they come from a reputable fiber optics provider.
