optical fiber is a thin, cylindrical fiber made of glass or plastic, that is as small as one tenth of the human hair. A standard telecom optical fiber is made up of three layers of cylindrical shape, arranged from the inside out the fiber core (diameter 8x10um) and the cladding (diameter of 125um) along with buffer coating (diameter 90um).
Fiber core and cladding is made of glass or silica. The fiber core and the cladding layers combine to contain the light within the core and prevent it from losing. Fiber buffer coating is created out of plastic or acrylic, and provides handling flexibility and physical protection to the fiber.
Fiber optics employ an optical phenomenon known as total internal reflection. When light is in the fiber from the the end, it becomes contained within the core, without spilling out and losing energy.
Then light is digitally modulated to represent 1 and 0 just like a computer, and data can be transmitted from one site to another one, which could be located from San Francisco all the way to New York.
What is a fiber optic connector and what do they do?
Now you know how optical fibers operate. So what is a fiber optic connector and what’s the purpose of a fiber optic telecommunication network?
In simple terms, a fiber optic connector’s job is similar to an electric power source, it relies on light to transmit from one segment of optical fiber with another segment that is optical.
Since optical fibers are tiny that fiber optic connectors need to be designed with extreme precision, and at a size to 0.1um which is one hundredth of the human hair.
Fiber optic connectors align two fibers from end to end to ensure that light is able to travel from one fiber into another without bouncing off the connector Cancel payment and return to the store losing its signal.
Additionally the fact that fiber optic connectors offer cross connect flexibility to the telecommunications network. Therefore, a computer network that is complex can be modularized and easy to manage.
Like other connectors used in electronic industry, the electric industry, or computer industry, many different kinds connected to fiber optic cables were invented along the development of fiber optic communication industry. Some of them once were very popular in the industry and now have served their purposes and are becoming obsolete.
The most popular fiber optic connectors in use today are SC, ST, LC, FC, MTRJ, SMA as well as a few others that are less well-known. Sure you will see new connectors invented with the advancement of technology.