Introduction of Fiber Optic Patch Cable
The fiber optic patch cable is a jumper wire invented to connect the optical transceiver, receiver and terminal box, which facilitates the data transmission with a simple and low-loss way. Compared to the traditional copper cable, fiber optic cable has a great improvement in the property of repeatability, confidentiality, transmission speed and transmission capacity to realize the data transmission with low loss. Therefore, fiber optic patch cable is an inevitable choice to set up large-scale and long-distance network, instead of copper cable.
Structure of Fiber Optic Patch Cable
In general, the fiber optic patch cable is composed of fiber optic cable and connectors in the view of its external structure.
Figure.1 The external fiber optic patch cable.
As for its internal structure, there is a transparent glass core with the property of high refractive index in the center of fiber optic patch cable, which makes light signal transmitted as long as possible with low loss. The diameter of the core in an ordinary fiber optic patch cable is about 125µm, as wide as a single hair of human. With the development of fiber optic patch cable, the diameter of the core is smaller and smaller. For instance, the diameter of the core in the single-mode cable is only 9 µm, much smaller than ordinary cable’s. Furthermore, the core is covered by a protective cladding with the property of low refractive index, which strengthens the function of low signal loss. Besides, the fiber optic patch cable has a thick jacket outside to protect its core and cladding from the damage of external environment.
Figure.2 The internal structure of fiber optic patch cable
Commonly Used Fiber Optic Patch Cables
When selecting the fiber optic patch cables to use, you’ll find many types of fiber optic patch cables in your list and you may feel a little confused about the selection. Here are the detailed characteristics of some commonly used fiber optic patch cables for your reference which may meet your need.
Fiber Optic Patch Cables Classified by Transmission Medium
On the basis of the different transmission medium, the fiber optic patch cables can be divided into two types, single-mode fiber cable and multimode fiber cable.
The Characteristics of Single-mode Fiber Cable and its Application
The single-mode fiber cable can only carry a single light signal in the same mode with different frequencies, which has little modal dispersion in the signal transmission. As a result, it is designed for long distance transmission. For its advantages of wide transmission band, big capacity, high speed and long transmission distance, is it also more expensive than the multimode fiber cable.
The Characteristics of Multimode Fiber Cable and its Application
Clearly different from the single-mode fiber cable, the multimode fiber cable can carry more than one light signals in the different modes, which required a much longer diameter of its core. However, it causes a serious disadvantage of large dispersion. The longer the distance the signal is transmitted through multimode fiber fiber cable, the larger the dispersion is. Therefore, the multimode fiber cable is commonly used in the applications for short distance transmission.
Figure.3 The different signal transmissions between single-mode fiber cable and multimode fiber cable
Fiber Optic Patch Cables Classified by Cable Quantities
According to the different cable quantities, there are two types of fiber patch cables commonly used nowadays, simplex fiber patch cable and duplex fiber patch cable.
The Characteristics of Simplex Fiber Patch Cable and its Application
The simplex fiber patch cable has only one fiber optic core and cladding. For the only one fiber, the signal transmission through simplex fiber patch cable can be running in one direction at a time. However, as time goes on, the new simplex fiber patch cable is developed which designed for transmitting the duplex signals respectively by using two light signals with different wavelengths. As a result, the data can be transmit in two directions at the same time. Compared to the duplex fiber patch cable, the simplex fiber patch cable has a great improvement in the high speed of sending and receiving the signals, which also saves the optical fiber resource.
Figure.4 The simplex fiber patch cable
The Characteristics of Duplex Fiber Patch Cable and its Application
The duplex fiber patch cable is also tight-buffered and jacketed like the simplex fiber patch cable. But there are two separate simplex cables with their own jackets linked together by a kind of material. It works simply, carrying the signals by two separate simplex cables. When the one cable is sending the signal in one direction, another cable can receive the signal and send another signal in the other direction simultaneously. The reliability of transmitting signals by duplex fiber patch cables is higher than transmitting by simplex cables, but the speed of transmitting signals by duplex fiber patch cables is slower. For the sake of high reliability of sending and receiving signals, the duplex fiber patch cable must be a good choice.
Figure.5 The duplex fiber patch cable
Conclusion
To meet the requirement of fiber optic cable market, the types of fiber optic cable is being more and more diversifying. It can be concluded from this article that the different fiber cables are designed for specific aims. In short, the single-mode fiber cable is suitable for long distance transmission, while the multimode fiber cable is commonly used in the applications for short distance transmission. If you want the high-speed transmission, you are suggested to choose the simplex fiber patch cable; if the reliability of transmitting signals is required, the duplex fiber patch cable must meet the need.
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