Overview of Fiber Optic Cable Specifications

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Many questions tell us that it is important to protect the fibers.But how to protect the fiber cables,the first one is to know the fiber optic cable specifications,when we know it,we can protect it best. Cable’s job is to protect the fibers from the hazards encountered in an installation. Will the cables be exposed to chemicals or have to withstand a wide temperature range? What about being gnawed on by a woodchuck or prairie dog? Inside buildings, cables don’t have to be so strong to protect the fibers, but they have to meet all fire code provisions. Outside the building, it depends on whether the cable is buried directly, pulled in conduit, strung aerially or whatever.

Since the plan will call for a certain number of fibers, consider adding spare fibers to the cable – Cost of fiber optic cable is cheap! That way, you won’t be in trouble if you break a fiber or two when splicing, breaking-out or terminating fibers. And request the end user consider their future expansion needs. Most users install lots more fibers than needed, especially adding single mode duplex fiber to multimode duplex fiber optic cable for campus or backbone applications.Now, let’s go to know the standard fiber optic cable.

A standard fiber optic cable is comprised of four specific parts:

Core – A fiber optic’s center is made of glass, and this tube carries the cable’s light signals. Depending on the type of fiber optic cable (single mode or multi mode), the core varies in size. Single mode duplex fiber consist of a tiny glass core that typically has a diameter between 8.3 and 10 microns. This type of cable is usually installed for transferring high speed data over long distances. For multi mode fibers, the core is larger. Their core size ranges from 5 to 7 times larger than single mode cores. With a diameter ranging between 50 to 62.5 microns, multimode duplex fiber optic cable is perfect for high data applications. Multi mode cables are typically used over shorter distances than single mode fiber optic cables.FiberStore provide the hot seller multimode cable–OM4 multimode fiber and OM3 multimode fiber.

Cladding layer – Also constructed of glass, this “core cover” is used to keep the light in the core. When transmitting data (especially over long distances), light rays can reflect off each other and travel in different directions. The cladding keeps those signals straight.

Buffer – Also called the buffer coating, this sleeve protects the core and cladding from foreign material (FM) such as outside light, moisture, dirt and other substances. More often than not, the buffer is made of plastic.

Jacket – The fiber optic’s cable exterior is typically made of tough, durable polyurethane. Its job is to protect the overall integrity of the fiber optic cable. The jacket is the first line of defense in a fiber optic cable. Routing cables can put stresses on a fiber optic cable (kinks, knots, etc.) and a jacket sometimes contains an extra layer to avoid these potential hazards.

Fiber Optic Cable Based on Fiber Types

Based upon fiber types in a cable, fiber optic cables can be categorized as three types.

Single Mode Fiber Optic Cable
All fibers in the cable are single mode fibers.

Multimode Fiber Optic Cable – Multi Mode Fiber Optic Cable
All fibers in the cable are multimode cables.

Hybrid Composite Cable
Both single mode and multimode fibers are packaged in one cable, such as 4 multimode fibers and 4 single mode fibers in a single cable.

For more info about the fiber optic cable,pls focus on fiber optic cable manufacturerFiberStore.Thank you!