Optical Fiber Essay

536 Words3 Pages
F i b r e O p t i c s Fibre optics is an emerging form of technology that uses minute fibres of glass or plastic to transmit light. The light source and method of delivery can be modified to transmit computer data, such as images and sound, or simply luminescent light. In recent years, the advancement of fibre optic technology has increased greatly. Many of these advancements, along with an explanation of the technology and societal implications will be discussed within this essay. Introduction Fibre optics is a method used to transmit information via light pulses along very fine fibres of glass or plastic. Plastic is not commonly used due to it's incapacity for extreme pureness. Optical fibres consist of a glass core, roughly fifty micrometers in diameter, surrounded by a glass "optical cladding" giving an outside diameter of about 120 micrometers. See Figure1 for an overview of an optical fibre. Total Internal Reflection Optical fibres rely upon Total Internal Reflection (TIR) to achieve reliable results through minimal light loss. If TIR did not occur, light loss would rapidly result in signal loss and optical fibres would have the capacity to carry signals only a few feet rather than many miles. The angle eA in Figure2 is called the Acceptance Angle. Any light entering the fibre at less than this angle will meet the cladding at an angle greater than eC. If light meets the inner surface of the cladding (the core-cladding interface) at greater than or equal to eC, TIR occurs. All the energy in the ray of light is thus reflected back into the core and none escapes into the cladding. The ray then crosses to the other side of the core, and because the fibre is more or less straight, the ray will meet the cladding at an angle which causes TIR to again occur. This pattern continues until the ray The development of fibre optics has taken many

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