What Are the Most Widely Used Fiber Optic Cable Products?

According to market demand and application scenarios, we have added some protective materials to the optical fibers, called optical cables. The most direct and common application of optical fibers is the optical cable, so if there is no special instructions, the optical fibers we call is actually the same as optical cables. Fiber optic patch cables are made of one or more optical fibers or fiber bundles to meet the chemical, mechanical and environmental characteristics of the structure.

1. The Structure of Fiber Optical Cables

The fiber optical cable is basically composed of three parts: the fiber core, the reinforcing element and the sheath.

1) Fiber Core

The core is located in the center of the fiber and is a high-purity silica with a small amount of dopant. The refractive index of the core is slightly higher than that of the cladding, and the loss is lower than that of the cladding. The light energy is mainly transmitted in the core.

2) Cladding

The cladding is also located around the core and is also a high-purity silica with very few dopants. The cladding provides a reflective surface and optical isolation for light transmission, and plays a role in mechanical protection.

3) Sheath

The outermost layer of the optical fiber is composed of acrylate, silicone rubber and nylon. The sheath protects the optical fiber from moisture and mechanical scratches.

2. Classification of Fiber Optical Cables

1) According to the transmission performance, distance and purpose, it can be divided into long-distance optical cable, local telephone optical cable, submarine optical cable and user optical cable.

2) According to the type of optical cables, it can be divided into multimode optical cables and single mode optical cables.

3) According to cable sheath, it can be divided into tight-buffered fiber optic cables, loose-buffered fiber optic cables, beam tube fiber optic cables and ribbon multicore unit fiber optic cables.

4) According to the number of optical fiber cores, it can be divided into single-core optical cables, double-core optical cables, four-core optical cables, six-core optical cables, eight-core optical cables, twelve-core optical cables, and 24-core optical cables.

5) According to the reinforcement configuration method, optical cables can be divided into central strengthening member optical cables (such as stranded optical cables, skeleton optical cables, etc.), dispersed strengthening member optical cables, and sheathed strengthening member optical cables (such as beam tube steel wire armor optical cables), etc.

6) According to the laying method, it can be divided into pipeline optical cables, direct buried optical cables, overhead optical cables and underwater optical cables.

7) According to the nature of the sheath material, it can be divided into ordinary polyethylene sheathed optical cables, PVC sheathed flame retardant optical cables and nylon anti-termite and rat-proof optical cables.

8) According to the transmission conductor and medium conditions, optical cables can be divided into non-metal optical cables, ordinary optical cables and integrated optical cables.

The application of fiber optical cables has become more and more popular. At the same time, the installation and maintenance of fiber optical cables are becoming more and more important. During the installation and maintenance of fiber optical cables, we often use some auxiliary tools, such as optical variable attenuator, fiber connectors, fiber patch panels, etc, which can make our operation more simple and effective.