Advantages and Disadvantages of Optical Fiber

Optical Fibre

It is a data transmission method that uses a light pulse traveling down a long fiber, often constructed of plastic or glass. Companies that provide Optical fiber services are Verizon FIOS and Google Fiber Services and offer respective speeds to the customers.

Features of the Optical Fiber

• Since Optical Fiber works on the principle of reflection, it provides bandwidth capacity in the range of 100mbps to 2gbps.
• Optical Fiber remains unaffected by the EMI; therefore, it can be used in high-voltage areas.
• Optic Cable is much superior to twisted pair cable and coaxial in value.
• The installation process is lengthy and complicated

Application of optical Fibre

• Medical Industry: Medical equipment like biomedical lasers, microscope lasers, surgical lasers, and endoscope lasers are all made up of lasers.
• Defense: Aerospace and Military use fiber optics for data transfer which is highly secured. Sonar, Aviation wings, and seismic applications all apply fiber material to them.
• Broadcasting: Cables that give high bandwidth HDTV signals are made of fiber optic cable, which is very cheap compared to copper cables.
• Lightings and Decorations: Optical fiber is also used in decorating Christmas trees.

Different Types of Optical Fiber

1. Materials

Optical fibers have been distributed into two types based on the material usage, and they are:

• Plastic Fiber

Example:

Core: Made of Polymethyl

Methacrylate: Cladding: Done with Co-Polymer

Core: Made of Polystyrene

Cladding: Done with Methyl Methacrylate

• Glass Fibre

Example:

Core: SiO2

Cladding: Si02

Core: Ge02

Cladding: Si02

Refractive Index Profile

They are divided into two groups according to the refractive index profile.

• Graded Index Fibre

It has a refractive index that differs from one end of the fiber to another, which allows light rays to travel at different rates. A lower refractive index of optical fiber is present at the outer border of the object. In other words, rays on the outer edge move more quickly than at the center. Therefore, rays arrive and leave at the fiber's end almost simultaneously.

• Step Index Fiber

Single mode Step Index Fiber: In a single-mode step index fiber, the core is enclosed by a lower refractive index cladding than the core.

Multimode Step Index Fibre: Multi-Step Index Fiber core is enclosed by cladding with a lower refractive index than the core.

Plastic Optical Fiber

It is a large core step-index optical fiber with a diameter of 1 mm.

Optical Fiber v Copper Cables

Copper wire has been the preferred choice for cable connections, telecommunications, and networking for a long period, but with a change of time, Fiber optics have emerged as the most powerful alternative to Copper. Today, most telephone companies' long distances lines have been replaced with fiber optics cables. It carries more data than the traditional copper wire due to its high speeds and large bandwidth.

Working of Fiber Optics

Light particles or photons that pulse through a fiber optic cable transmit data in the fiber optics. The glass fiber and the cladding have varied refractive indices that bend the incoming light at some angle.

When the light signals are released through the fiber optic cable, they reflect off the core and cladding in a series of zig-zag bounces, and it follows the principle of total internal reflection (This phenomenon arises when light beams travel from denser optical medium to less dense optical medium).

Total internal reflection= sin i/sinr=n1/n2

The light waves do not move at the speed of light due to the dense glass layers; instead, they move about 30% slower than the speed of light.

The fiber optics transmission cable needed repeaters at distant intervals to enhance the journey and move the signal through the travel. These repeaters generate the optical signal by turning it into an electrical signal, which then processes it into an optical signal at retransmission. Fiber cables can now support up to 10Gbps signals. Usually, the fiber's bandwidth increases with the price of the fiber increases.

Top 10 Largest Optical Fiber Manufacturing Companies in India

• Dron Edge
• Telephone Electronic Corp
• Finolex Cables Ltd
• M-Core
• Aksh Optifibre Limited
• Illumination Systems Pvt Ltd
• Vindhya Telelink Ltd
• Aares Telecom (p)Ltd

1. Drone Edge

Drone Edge came into existence in 2010, becoming one of the most sought fiber optic cable manufacturers and exporters of Optical Fiber Cable and Joint closure and other items such as Patch chords, OLT, LIU, OTDR, and FMS.

2. Telephone Electronic Corp

Telephone Electronic Corp journey from the little shop where it used to sell analog telephones to the world's most renowned institutions, including BARC Nuclear Power Plant and the Indian Army. It was formed in 1963. Being India's premier technology provider, they take immense pride in their current position in the sector. They are readily available to the consumer, whatever the conditions may be.

3. Finolex Cables Ltd

Finolex wires Ltd has a revenue of 26 million, one of India's most trending fiber optic cable manufacturers of communication and electrical cables. It is primarily located in Maharashtra. In the beginning, the firm began with the production of PVC-insulated electric wires to satisfy the need of the automotive sector.

4. M-Core

It was formed in 1989, offering consumer optic fiber cable at a reasonable price. It has become a leading manufacturer, trader, and wholesaler of various products, including networking cables, CCTV wires, and electronic cables.

5. Aksh Optfiber Limited

Aksh Optfiber Limited started producing optical and optical fiber cables three decades ago on Mathura Road, New Delhi. Aksh, in the year 200, purchased Optical Fiber cables as primary raw material, glass fiber reinforced plastics rods.

Aksh became global in the year 2000 and registered itself on the National and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Seventy percent of the optical fiber cable price comes from the two essential commodities, Fiber rod, and optical fiber.

6. Illumination Systems Pvt Ltd

Illuminations System Pvt Ltd offers lighting goods like LED street lamps, Fiber Optic Lighting Products, and LED interior lighting. Some of the key features include:

• The ease of setting up
• Different lengths of cords
• The Surface was polished using a machine

7. Vindhya Telelink Limited

It is MP Birla Group flagship firm, Birla Corporation Limited, and earlier formed as Birla Jute Manufacturing and came into existence in 1919. The enterprise, under the energetic leadership of Madhav Prasad Birla, the firm, has been able to survive, compete and innovate with technological advancement and has satisfied the huge demand. Throughout the journey, the enterprise collaborated with world players and produced unique and creative goods for its consumer and the world markets. The company is based in Radisson Hotel NH-8, Mahipalpur, New Delhi, 110037.

8. Aare Telecom (p) Ltd

It came into existence in 1995 and turned itself into the leading manufacturer, wholesaler, and dealer of 4 core fiber optic cable price in India tools (single and ribbon fiber), optical laser light source, optical time domain reflectometers (OTDRs), and optical signal meters. They tailored their whole line of items to meet clients' needs, such as Micro Engineers, Vodafone, and Ircone.

Advantages of the Optical Fiber

• Faster Speed and Large Bandwidth: Optical Fiber cable endorses extremely high speed and bandwidth. One of the significant advantages of fiber is the large amount of information that can be traveled per unit of optical fiber cable.
• Lightweight and Slim: It is slim and turns into smaller diameters than copper wires. It is tiny in size and lightweight in comparison to copper wire. It offers better fitting for places where space is an issue.
• Cheap: Elongated, continuous miles of optical fiber can be developed cheaper than copper wire. The price of the optical fiber may soar as numerous vendors, business houses, and retailers may swarm to compete for the market share.
• Minimum Signal Degradation: Minimum signal loss in the optical fiber is seen as compared to the Copper wire. Due to its higher bandwidth, the radar and other signals cannot do many disruptions.
• Large Data Protection: It is very hard to tap as they do not generate electromagnetic energy, and thus, optical fiber is very suitable for transmitting highly secured data. Therefore, the military and other security agencies use optical fiber extensively to transmit their data. Its bandwidth is above all the copper cables, and installing these wires is very easy due to their lightweight.
• Longevity: It is said that Optical fiber has a life span of more than 100 years.
• Large Carrying Capacity: These optical fibers are very slim than copper wires, so more fibers can be turned into a given diameter cable. This allows more phone lines to go over the same cable or more channels to come through the cable into your Cable TV box.

Disadvantages of Optical Fiber

• Fragility: It is more fragile and vulnerable to damage than copper wires. Optical fiber cannot be twisted or bent too tightly.
• Low Power: Light emitting sources are very limited to low power.
• Skilled Fiber: It requires trained and skilled men to place fiber in the optic cable. As optical fiber is more vulnerable to damage, trained men can only fix faulty joints.
• New Devices: Costly devices are required to read the signal coming from the Optical Fiber. Repeaters are required to maximize the strength of the signal.
• Price Issue: The price of the optical fiber may surge in demand.