A TOSLINK optical fiber cable with a clear jacket. These cables are used mainly for digital audio connections between devices.
A fiber-optic cable, also known as an optical-fiber cable, is an assembly similar to an electrical cable, but containing one or more optical fibers
that are used to carry light. The optical fiber elements are typically
individually coated with plastic layers and contained in a protective
tube suitable for the environment where the cable will be deployed.
Different types of cable are used for different applications, for example, long distance telecommunication, or providing a high-speed data connection between different parts of a building.
Design
A multi-fiber cable
Optical fiber consists of a core and a cladding layer, selected for total internal reflection due to the difference in the refractive index between the two. In practical fibers, the cladding is usually coated with a layer of acrylate polymer or polyimide. This coating protects the fiber from damage but does not contribute to its optical waveguide properties. Individual coated fibers (or fibers formed into ribbons or bundles) then have a tough resin buffer
layer or core tube(s) extruded around them to form the cable core.
Several layers of protective sheathing, depending on the application,
are added to form the cable. Rigid fiber assemblies sometimes put
light-absorbing ("dark") glass between the fibers, to prevent light that
leaks out of one fiber from entering another. This reduces cross-talk between the fibers, or reduces flare in fiber bundle imaging applications.
For indoor applications, the jacketed fiber is generally enclosed, with a bundle of flexible fibrous polymer strength members like aramid (e.g. Twaron or Kevlar), in a lightweight plastic cover to form a simple cable. Each end of the cable may be terminated with a specialized optical fiber connector to allow it to be easily connected and disconnected from transmitting and receiving equipment.
Fiber-optic cable in a Telstra pit
Investigating a fault in a fiber cable junction box. The individual fiber cable strands within the junction box are visible.
An optical fiber breakout cable
For use in more strenuous environments, a much more robust cable construction is required. In loose-tube construction the fiber is laid helically
into semi-rigid tubes, allowing the cable to stretch without stretching
the fiber itself. This protects the fiber from tension during laying
and due to temperature changes. Loose-tube fiber may be "dry block" or
gel-filled. Dry block offers less protection to the fibers than
gel-filled, but costs considerably less. Instead of a loose tube, the
fiber may be embedded in a heavy polymer jacket, commonly called "tight
buffer" construction. Tight buffer cables are offered for a variety of
applications, but the two most common are "Breakout" and "Distribution".
Breakout cables normally contain a ripcord, two non-conductive
dielectric strengthening members (normally a glass rod epoxy), an aramid
yarn, and 3 mm buffer tubing with an additional layer of Kevlar
surrounding each fiber. The ripcord is a parallel cord of strong yarn
that is situated under the jacket(s) of the cable for jacket removal.[3]
Distribution cables have an overall Kevlar wrapping, a ripcord, and a
900 micrometer buffer coating surrounding each fiber. These fiber units are commonly bundled with additional steel strength members, again with a helical twist to allow for stretching.
A critical concern in outdoor cabling is to protect the fiber
from contamination by water. This is accomplished by use of solid
barriers such as copper tubes, and water-repellent jelly or
water-absorbing powder surrounding the fiber.
Finally, the cable may be armored to protect it from
environmental hazards, such as construction work or gnawing animals.
Undersea cables are more heavily armored in their near-shore portions to
protect them from boat anchors, fishing gear, and even sharks, which may be attracted to the electrical power that is carried to power amplifiers or repeaters in the cable.
Modern cables come in a wide variety of sheathings and armor,
designed for applications such as direct burial in trenches, dual use as
power lines, installation in conduit, lashing to aerial telephone
poles, submarine installation, and insertion in paved streets.
Capacity and market
In September 2012, NTT Japan demonstrated a single fiber cable that was able to transfer 1 petabit per second (1015bits/s) over a distance of 50 kilometers.
Modern fiber cables can contain up to a thousand fibers in a
single cable, with potential bandwidth in the terabytes per second. In
some cases, only a small fraction of the fibers in a cable may be
actually "lit". Companies can lease or sell the unused fiber to other
providers who are looking for service in or through an area. Companies
may "overbuild" their networks for the specific purpose of having a
large network of dark fiber for sale, reducing the overall need for trenching and municipal permitting. They may also deliberately under-invest to prevent their rivals from profiting from their investment.
The highest strand-count singlemode fiber cable commonly
manufactured is the 864-count, consisting of 36 ribbons each containing
24 strands of fiber.
Reliability and quality
Optical
fibers are very strong, but the strength is drastically reduced by
unavoidable microscopic surface flaws inherent in the manufacturing
process. The initial fiber strength, as well as its change with time,
must be considered relative to the stress imposed on the fiber during
handling, cabling, and installation for a given set of environmental
conditions. There are three basic scenarios that can lead to strength
degradation and failure by inducing flaw growth: dynamic fatigue, static
fatigues, and zero-stress aging.
Telcordia GR-20, Generic Requirements for Optical Fiber and Optical Fiber Cable, contains reliability and quality criteria to protect optical fiber in all operating conditions.
The criteria concentrate on conditions in an outside plant (OSP)
environment. For the indoor plant, similar criteria are in Telcordia
GR-409, Generic Requirements for Indoor Fiber Optic Cable.
Cable types
- OFC: Optical fiber, conductive
- OFN: Optical fiber, nonconductive
- OFCG: Optical fiber, conductive, general use
- OFNG: Optical fiber, nonconductive, general use
- OFCP: Optical fiber, conductive, plenum
- OFNP: Optical fiber, nonconductive, plenum
- OFCR: Optical fiber, conductive, riser
- OFNR: Optical fiber, nonconductive, riser
- OPGW: Optical fiber composite overhead ground wire
- ADSS: All-Dielectric Self-Supporting
- OSP: Fiber optic cable, outside plant
- MDU: Fiber optics cable, multiple dwelling unit
Jacket material
The
jacket material is application-specific. The material determines the
mechanical robustness, chemical and UV radiation resistance, and so on.
Some common jacket materials are LSZH, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polyurethane, polybutylene terephthalate, and polyamide.
Fiber material
There
are two main types of material used for optical fibers: glass and
plastic. They offer widely different characteristics and find uses in
very different applications. Generally, plastic fiber is used for very short-range and consumer applications, whereas glass fiber is used for short/medium-range (multi-mode) and long-range (single-mode) telecommunications.
Color coding
Patch cords
The
buffer or jacket on patchcords is often color-coded to indicate the
type of fiber used. The strain relief "boot" that protects the fiber
from bending at a connector is color-coded to indicate the type of
connection. Connectors with a plastic shell (such as SC connectors)
typically use a color-coded shell. Standard color codings for jackets
(or buffers) and boots (or connector shells) are shown below:
| Color | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| Orange | multi-mode optical fiber | |
| Aqua | OM3 or OM4 10 G laser-optimized 50/125 µm multi-mode optical fiber | |
| Erika violet | OM4 multi-mode optical fiber (some vendors) | |
| Lime green | OM5 10 G wideband 50/125 µm multi-mode optical fiber | |
| Grey | outdated color code for multi-mode optical fiber | |
| Yellow | single-mode optical fiber | |
| Blue | Sometimes used to designate polarization-maintaining optical fiber | |
Remark: It is also possible that a small part of a connector is
additionally color-coded, e.g. the lever of an E-2000 connector or a
frame of an adapter. This additional colour coding indicates the correct
port for a patchcord, if many patchcords are installed at one point.
Multi-fiber cables
Individual
fibers in a multi-fiber cable are often distinguished from one another
by color-coded jackets or buffers on each fiber. The identification
scheme used by Corning Cable Systems
is based on EIA/TIA-598, "Optical Fiber Cable Color Coding."
EIA/TIA-598 defines identification schemes for fibers, buffered fibers,
fiber units, and groups of fiber units within outside plant and premises
optical fiber cables. This standard allows for fiber units to be
identified by means of a printed legend. This method can be used for
identification of fiber ribbons and fiber subunits. The legend will
contain a corresponding printed numerical position number or color for
use in identification.
Propagation speed and delay
Optical cables transfer data at the speed of light in glass. This is the speed of light in vacuum divided by the refractive index
of the glass used, typically around 180,000 to 200,000 km/s, resulting
in 5.0 to 5.5 microseconds of latency per km. Thus the round-trip delay
time for 1000 km is around 11 milliseconds.
Losses
Signal loss in optic fiber is measured in decibels
(dB). A loss of 3 dB across a link means the light at the far end is
only half the intensity of the light that was sent into the fiber. A
6 dB loss means only one quarter of the light made it through the fiber.
Once too much light has been lost, the signal is too weak to recover
and the link becomes unreliable and eventually ceases to function
entirely. The exact point at which this happens depends on the
transmitter power and the sensitivity of the receiver.
Typical modern multimode graded-index fibers have 3 dB per kilometre of attenuation (signal loss) at a wavelength of 850 nm,
and 1 dB/km at 1300 nm. Singlemode loses 0.35 dB/km at 1310 nm and
0.25 dB/km at 1550 nm. Very high quality singlemode fiber intended for
long distance applications is specified at a loss of 0.19 dB/km at
1550 nm. Plastic optical fiber
(POF) loses much more: 1 dB/m at 650 nm. POF is large core (about 1 mm)
fiber suitable only for short, low speed networks such as TOSLINK optical audio or for use within cars.
Each connection between cables adds about 0.6 dB of average loss, and each joint (splice) adds about 0.1 dB.
Invisible infrared light (750 nm and larger) is used in
commercial glass fiber communications because it has lower attenuation
in such materials than visible light. However, the glass fibers will
transmit visible light somewhat, which is convenient for simple testing
of the fibers without requiring expensive equipment. Splices can be
inspected visually, and adjusted for minimal light leakage at the joint,
which maximizes light transmission between the ends of the fibers being
joined.
The charts Understanding wavelengths in fiber optics and Optical power loss (attenuation) in fiber
illustrate the relationship of visible light to the infrared
frequencies used, and show the absorption water bands between 850, 1300
and 1550 nm.
Safety
The infrared light used in telecommunications cannot be seen, so there is a potential laser safety hazard to technicians. The eye's natural defense against sudden exposure to bright light is the blink reflex,
which is not triggered by infrared sources. In some cases the power
levels are high enough to damage eyes, particularly when lenses or
microscopes are used to inspect fibers that are emitting invisible
infrared light. Inspection microscopes with optical safety filters are
available to guard against this. More recently indirect viewing aids are
used, which can comprise a camera mounted within a handheld device,
which has an opening for the connectorized fiber and a USB output for
connection to a display device such as a laptop. This makes the activity
of looking for damage or dirt on the connector face much safer.
Small glass fragments can also be a problem if they get under
someone's skin, so care is needed to ensure that fragments produced when
cleaving fiber are properly collected and disposed of appropriately.
Hybrid cables
There
are hybrid optical and electrical cables that are used in wireless
outdoor Fiber To The Antenna (FTTA) applications. In these cables, the
optical fibers carry information, and the electrical conductors are used
to transmit power. These cables can be placed in several environments
to serve antennas mounted on poles, towers, and other structures.
According to Telcordia GR-3173, Generic
Requirements for Hybrid Optical and Electrical Cables for Use in
Wireless Outdoor Fiber To The Antenna (FTTA) Applications, these
hybrid cables have optical fibers, twisted pair/quad elements, coaxial
cables or current-carrying electrical conductors under a common outer
jacket. The power conductors used in these hybrid cables are for
directly powering an antenna or for powering tower-mounted electronics
exclusively serving an antenna. They have a nominal voltage normally
less than 60 VDC or 108/120 VAC. Other voltages may be present depending on the application and the relevant National Electrical Code (NEC).
These types of hybrid cables may also be useful in other
environments such as Distributed Antenna System (DAS) plants where they
will serve antennas in indoor, outdoor, and roof-top locations.
Considerations such as fire resistance, Nationally Recognized Testing
Laboratory (NRTL) Listings, placement in vertical shafts, and other
performance-related issues need to be fully addressed for these
environments.
Since the voltage levels and power levels used within these
hybrid cables vary, electrical safety codes consider the hybrid cable to
be a power cable, which needs to comply with rules on clearance,
separation, etc.
Innerducts
Innerducts
are installed in existing underground conduit systems to provide clean,
continuous, low-friction paths for placing optical cables that have
relatively low pulling tension limits. They provide a means for
subdividing conventional conduit
that was originally designed for single, large-diameter metallic
conductor cables into multiple channels for smaller optical cables.
Types
Innerducts are typically small-diameter, semi-flexible subducts. According to Telcordia GR-356, there are three basic types of innerduct: smoothwall, corrugated, and ribbed.
These various designs are based on the profile of the inside and
outside diameters of the innerduct. The need for a specific
characteristic or combination of characteristics, such as pulling
strength, flexibility, or the lowest coefficient of friction, dictates
the type of innerduct required.
Beyond the basic profiles or contours (smoothwall, corrugated, or
ribbed), innerduct is also available in an increasing variety of
multiduct designs. Multiduct may be either a composite unit consisting
of up to four or six individual innerducts that are held together by
some mechanical means, or a single extruded product having multiple
channels through which to pull several cables. In either case, the
multiduct is coilable, and can be pulled into existing conduit in a
manner similar to that of conventional innerduct.
Placement
Innerducts are primarily installed in underground conduit systems that provide connecting paths between manhole
locations. In addition to placement in conduit, innerduct can be
directly buried, or aerially installed by lashing the innerduct to a
steel suspension strand.
As stated in GR-356, cable is typically placed into innerduct in one of three ways. It may be
- Pre-installed by the innerduct manufacturer during the extrusion process,
- Pulled into the innerduct using a mechanically assisted pull line, or
- Blown into the innerduct using a high air volume cable blowing apparatus.
