Fiber Optic Fundamentals Prepared for The Handbook of Fiber Optic Data Communication Third Edition Dr. Casimer DeCusatis IBM Corporation
Key Concepts Brief History of Optical Fiber Technology Multimode and Single-mode Fiber Basic Fiber Optic Link Concepts and Applications to the Computer Industry
Optical fiber vs Copper
Challenges: Connectivity and Interoperability Electrical Connector Electrical Connector Transceiver Fiber Optic Cable Optical Connector Optical Connector Optical Port Optical Port Newer technologies involving higher datarates, smaller form factors, higher port densities, pluggability, and parallel links are showing an increased need to focus on connectivity and interoperability issues A failure anywhere along this link will cause the entire link to fail
Conclusions Historically, the fundamental concepts of fiber optics date back to 1927 Multimode fibers use a core diameter of either 50 or 62.5 microns –Short wavelength lasers –Shorter distances (few hundred meters) Single-mode fibers use a core diameter of 9-10 microns –Long wavelength lasers –Longer distances (several kilometers) A basic link is composed of optical transceivers, cables, and connectors Fiber optics is widely used for both voice and data communication, and is gradually becoming a more fundamental part of future computer architectures