What Are Fiber Optic Bulk Cables?

Signals are sent with hair-like strands of glass or plastics using fiber optics technology. Lights are transmitted to the center of a fiber called core. The core is usually surrounded by a material called cladding that traps light inside.

Cladding and core are usually made of pure glass. The fiber is then coated with protective plastic called primary buffer that protects the fiber optic cables from moisture and other environmental damage. An additional layer of protection is given over the cable called a jacket.

Types

Single Mode Fiber Optic Cable

A single-mode fiber optic cable allows just one mode of light to propagate using a small diametral core. Resulting in a decreased number of light reflections that can pass through the core. Lowering its attenuation and creates the ability for a signal to travel even further. Single-mode fiber optic cables are used in long-distance applications and high bandwidth requirements from networks, telecommunications, television, and universities.

Multimode Fiber Optic Cable

Compared to the single-mode fiber optic cable, a multimode fiber optic cable has a big diametral core that allows different modes of light to propagate. Additionally, the number of light reflections in the core increases allows more data to pass at any given time. The attenuation rate and high dispersion cause the signal quality to reduce over long distances. Applications for multimode fiber optic cable are best for short distances, data/video, and LAN (Local Area Network)