What are the different types of fibers used in a cable?
Depending upon the application, either a singlemode or multimode fiber will be used. Singlemode fibers have a core diameter of 8.3 microns and are used for long distance transmissions typically in outside plant applications requiring high bandwidth. Multimode fibers are used for transmissions over short distances and are usually identified by their core and cladding diameters. The core/cladding diameter of a multimode fiber can be 50/125, 62.5/125, or 100/140 microns. Multimode fibers are widely used in premise cables and private networks. The size utilized most frequently in the United States is 62.5 micron, while 50 micron fibers are often used in military applications. There is also a type of singlemode fiber referred to as non-zero dispersion shifted fiber. This type of fiber is used in long distance and DWDM applications. Examples of this type of fiber are Corning ‘s LEAF or Lucent Technology’s TrueWave fiber. MetroCor Fiber is a new type of NZDS fiber used in metropolitan ring ap
