An optical fiber is a long thin strand of impurityfree glass used as a transport medium for data. The optical fiber is a waveguide used for transmission of light. Plastic optical fibers branch out article pdf available in ieee communications magazine 449. As a result, pofs were relegated to lowbitrate and shortdistance applications. Plastic optical fiber pof fiber optic cables mouser. The purpose of this article is to provide the nontechnical reader with an overview of. The online version of introduction to fiber optics by john crisp and barry.
This enables the development of core and cladding compositions contributing to the overall fiber design and its light propagation characteristics. Fiber optics fundamentals811 applied network research group department of computer engineering, kasetsart university 811 optical fiber comparison multimode single mode light source ledild ild bandwidth 1 ghzkm up to ghzkm wavelength 850, 0 0,1550 corecladding 62. In the case of optical fiber materials, modifications in composition, for example, can be used to influence the refractive index of the glass. Figure 1 basic fiber optic transmission system the optical transmitter the transmitter converts an electrical analog or digital signal into a corresponding optical signal. Multimode optical fiber is a type of optical fiber mostly used for communication over short distances.
Introduction physical fundamentals of optical fiber transmission light is used in optoelectronics and optical fiber telecommunication for data transmission, in optical fiber interferometers, optical fiber lasers, sensors and optical fiber modulators. Fiberoptic systems are used in most modern telemedicine devices for transmission of digital diagnostic images. Numerical aperture is defined as the sine of half of the angle of fibres light acceptance cone. Plastic optical fiber genta meco gusho submitted to the. Thin strands of highly transparent glass or sometimes plastic that guide light. Where to buy plastic optical fibers, pof, pmma, acrylic. Optical fibre cable manufacturing process optical fibres in a cable are normally protected in one of two ways, either being tight buffered or contained in loose tubes. Optical losses extrinsic fiber losses bending losses. The center of the fiber where the light is transmitted. Pdf effect of plastic optical fiber on some properties. Fiber optic glossary light brigade fiber optic training. Numerical aperture is thus considered as a light gathering capacity of an optical fiber. Similar to glass optical fiber, pof transmits light for illumination or data through the core of the fiber. Optical fiber optical fiber or fiber optic refers to the medium and the technology associated with the transmission of information as light pulses along a glass or plastic strand or fiber.
They are used as multimode fibers for optical fiber communications over short or moderate distances, and as light pipes for various other applications. Fibre is an integral part of modern day communication infrastucture and can be found along roads, in buildings, hospitals and machinary. Core structure of optical cables in common optical cable designs, one or more optical fiber conductors are combined in a given. Review questions are included in the text to enable the reader to check their understanding as they work. Plastic optical fibers pofs are a lowcost solution for lowspeed, shortdistance applications in digital car networks, industrial networks, and home networks and appliances. Outer layer cladding refractive index n 2 n 2 optical cladding n 1.
The field of fibre optics communications has exploded over the past two decades. This central section, made of silica or doped silica, is the light transmitting region of the fiber. Optical fiber a single solid dielectric of two concentric layers. Preparation of plastic optical fibers for nearir region. Data and sensors high temperature environments bh2001 bh4001.
Introduction to fiber optics is well established as an introductory text for engineers, managers and students. Basics of fiber optics mark curranbrian shirk fiber optics, which is the science of light transmission through very fine glass or plastic fibers, continues to be used in more and more applications due to its inherent advantages over copper conductors. It consists of a dielectric fiber core, usually from glass, surrounded by a layer of glass or plastic cladding characterized by the refraction index lower than that of the core. A 3db attenuation gives 50%, and 1 db is about 80%. Higher numerical aperature na mean higher coupling from source to fiber, and less losses across joints. When tight buffered the individual optical fibre is covered directly with a layer of thermoplastic material or one or more. An optical fiber is made of 3 concentric layers see figure 3. Optical repeaters are purely optical devices that are used simply to combat attenuation in the fiber.
Attenuation limit the optical power reaching the receiver. In every phase bl increased initially but began to saturate as the technology matured. Inner layer core of radius aand refractive index n 1. Abrasion resistance a cables ability to resist surface wear. A brief history of fiberoptic communications the physics. In an optical fiber transmission context, the attenuation coefficient above is often expressed in base10 form. Gallazzi, giuseppe zerbi, enhancement of pmma nonlinear optical properties by means of a quinoid. An optical fiber is a cylindrical dielectric waveguide made of lowloss materials such as silica glass. Their task is to slightly increase and decrease the refractive. Plastic optical fiber pof or polymer optical fibre is an optical fiber that is made out of polymer. A typical attenuation coefficient a against wavelength l is shown in figure 4 for common lowloss fused silica fiber. It has a central core in which the light is guided, embedded in an outer.
Plastic optical fiber, pof, typically uses pmma acrylic, a generalpurpose resin as the core material, and fluorinated polymers for the cladding material. Home plastic optical fiber data sensing lighting home network contact us. The light transmitted through the optical fiber is. Optical fiber carries much more information than conventional copper wire and is in general not subject to electromagnetic interference. Its chief advantage over the glass product, other aspect being equal, is. Plastic optical fibers pof have been overshadowed in the last decade by the success of glass optical fibers.
Please consult the factory or your representative to confirm all engineering information or refer to the related catalogues available in the local countries website. The basic material used in the manufacture of optical. Materials, devices, and systems is a new cuttingedge journal designed to. The tested results indicate that it is possible to use scm to produce translucent concrete contain plastic optical fiber pof with compressive strength between 31. The future of plastic optical fiber article pdf available in npg asia materials 11. It meets the needs of systems designers, installation engineers, electronic engineers and anyone else looking to gain a working knowledge of fiber optics with a minimum of maths. Rp photonics encyclopedia plastic optical fibers, polymer. The plastic optical fiber is made out of a plastic such as acrylic pmma as the core material and fluorinated or perfluorinated polymers as the cladding materials. The outside optical layer of the fiber that traps the light in the core and guides it along even through curves. Absorption caused by impurities introduced during the manufacturing process, absorption creates loss in a fiber by turning light energy into heat.
Abbreviated as pof, plastic optical fiber is a type of optical fiber that uses polymethylmethacrylate as the core material that allows the transmission of light. A typical pointtopoint fiber optic communication network consists of a transmitter laser, a transport medium optical fiber and a receiver photodiode as in figure 1. Message input laser detector message output electrical input electrical. There are various possibilities how to build up a cable core and, indeed, the optical cables are mainly distinguished by the type of their core.
The first phase the first phase of lightwave systems operated near 850 nm and used gaas semiconductor lasers with multimode fibres. The recent introduction of soliton transmission methods has increased the allowed distance between repeaters and systems spanning km without a repeater are now possible. Plastic optical fibers can be drawn from preforms in a similar process as often used for silica fibers, only with a much lower temperature e. An attenuation of 10 db means that the optical power pl at the end of the fiber is only 10% of the initial power p0. Plastic optical fiber pof fiber optic cables are available at mouser electronics. The basic structure of an optical fiber consists of a dielectric cylinder, core, of a few micron thickness and refractive index n, surrounded by another cylinder, cladding, of refractive index n. Its chief advantage over the glass product, other aspect being equal, is its robustness under bending and stretching. Plastic optical fibers may be made of pmma acrylic, polystyrene, polycarbonates or other polymer materials. Weight and dimensions other fibre counts are available on request. Introduction to fibre optics jodrell bank observatory. Pof is often called consumer optical fiber as it is a lowcost optical fiber alternative that is easier to use than glass optical fiber.
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