optical fiber is a thin, cylindrical fiber made of glass or stc الياف plasticthat is as tiny as one tenth of the human hair. The standard optical fiber in telecom is composed of three layers of cylindrical shape, arranged inside out as fiber core (diameter 8~10um), cladding (diameter 130um) as well as buffer layer (diameter 9000um).
The fiber core and cladding are made of glass or silica. Fiber Core and cladding layers work together to confine the light inside the core and prevent it from losing. Fiber buffer coating is made out of plastic or acrylic, and offers handling flexibility as well as physical protection for the fiber.
Optical fibers utilize an optical phenomenon known as internal reflection. When light is injected into the fiber from end face, it is contained within the core, without leaking outside and losing energy.
Then, light is digitally modulated to indicate 1 and 0 , just as a computer. As such, data can be transmitted from one site to another, which could be from San Francisco all the way to New York.
What are fiber optic connectors ? And how do they function?
Now you know the way optical fibers function. So what is a fiber optic connector and what is its purpose in the fiber optic network of telecommunications?
Simply put, a fiber optic connector’s function is just like an electric power plug, it is used to connect light in one part of optical fiber with a different section that is optical.
Because optical fibers are small, fiber optic connectors have to be constructed with high precision, with a size to 0.1um which is one hundredth of the human hair.
Fiber optic connectors align two fibers end to end in a way that light can travel from one fiber into another without bounce off the interface , and thus losing its signal.
Additionally, fiber optic connectors provide cross connect flexibility for the telecommunication network. Therefore, a computer network that is complex can be modularized and simple to manage.
Like other connectors used in electronic industry, electric industry, or computer industry, numerous kinds of fiber optic connectors were created during the evolution of the fiber optic communication industry. Some of them once were highly popular in the market but they have since served their purposes and are disappearing.
The most widely used fiber optic connectors in use today include SC, ST, LC, FC, MTRJ, SMA and a few other less popular ones. Sure you will see new connectors being developed as a result of the progress of this industry.