Lesson 3 A

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 Optical fibre?
 It is a very fine transparent, cylindrical glass or plastic
medium about the size of a human air.
 Fibres which are used for communication are wave guides
made of transparent dielectrics.
 The function of these fibres is to guide visible or infrared
light over distances.

Optical fibre 2
Structure of optical fibre

3
 Cont’d

• Core-This is the central part of very thin size, made up

of optical transparent, non conducting medium and it
carries the light.
• Cladding-Immediately covering the core, also of
transparent material. It has a lower reflective index
than the core. It helps to keep the light within the core.
• Buffer Coating-A plastic coating that protects the fibre.
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 Cont’d
18 core single mode tight buffer optical fibre

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A little history

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Classification of optical fibre cables

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 Working principle of optical fibre
 When light passes from one different material to another
it changes direction. This is called refraction.
 The measurement of this property of a material to change
the direction of the light is called refractive index.
 Different materials have different refractive indices.
 When light is launched into a fibre core at a certain
angle, and is reflected back into the core, travelling
along the edge of the core, that angle is called a critical
angle. (as illustrated on the next slide) 8
 Cont’d
Critical angle

Lig
ht

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 Cont’d

 When The light is launched at an angle greater than the

critical angle. It is caused to bounce from one end
inside the core to the other end travelling along, to the
end of the fibre.
 This phenomenon is called (T.I.R.) Total Internal
Reflection. (see illustration on the next slide)

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 Cont’d
Total internal reflection

Lig
ht

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 Optical fibre losses
One advantage of optical fibre over copper is that of
having very little attenuation. The following are some
of the attenuation experienced in optical fibre cables.
 Rayleigh scatter
 Absorption losses
 Bend losses
 Fresnel losses

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 Cont’d
Rayleigh scatter losses

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 Cont’d
Losses
 Absorption losses are caused by metallic traces
left in the optical fibre at manufacture. These
metallic traces block some of the light energy as
the light is transmitted along the fibre at their own
particular wavelengths.
 Fresnel losses are a result of light reflections as
light passes from one cable to the other through
connectors. 14
 Cont’d
Bend losses

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 Review questions number 4:
1.Describe an optical fibre cable in your own words.
2.Highlight the difference between a SM and MM fibre.
3.State three types of attenuation in fibre.
4.Indicate which of the attenuations above is most
likely to be caused by technicians.
5.Explain T.I.R.
6.Describe critical angle, as used in fibre optics .

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Basic Optical fibre system

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 Advantages of Optical fibre
 Very large carrying capacity.
 No electrical interference.
 No near end crosstalk.
 Very small attenuation.
 Suitable for carrying digital signals
 More secure for transmitting data.
 Non sparking
 Small dimensions and light weight.
 No corrosion
 Electrical separation.
 No exhaustion of raw material which is sand. 18
 Disadvantages of Optical fibre
 More expensive per meter than copper.
 More fragile than copper.
 Affected by various chemicals including hydrogen
gas.
 Most fibres become opaque when exposed to
radiation.
 Requires special skills and expensive equipment to
work on them.
 Needs special handling care when disposing.

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Uses of Optical fibre

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 Cont’d
Endoscope examination

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 Fusion splicing
Reasons for splicing;
 You need to attach a connector or a pig tail.
 You need to make your cable longer.
 You need to repair a damaged cable.
There two types of splicing; fusion and mechanical. In
this lecture we will describe fusion splicing. Fusion
splicing melts the two ends of fibres together to
become one. If done correctly it becomes just as good
as a natural fibre.

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 Cont’d
Health and safety priorities

 Use gloves and safety glasses

 Do not inspect fibre with the naked eye.
 Do not eat or drink in the work area.
 Do not splice in explosive environments.
 All off cuts should be disposed off properly. 23
 Cont’d
Required tools and material
 Fusion splicer.
 Fibre cutters.
 Fibre stripper.
 Cleaver
 Scissors
 Wipers
 Splice protector
 Optical fiber
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 Cont’d
Colour coding

Cores should be spliced according to matching colors

whenever possible. Below is the common colour
coding.
1. Blue 7. Red
2. Orange 8. Black
3. Green 9. Yellow
4. Brown 10. Purple
5. Slate 11. Rose
6. White 12. aqua 25
 Cont’d
Steps to splicing

1. Strip approximately 50mm of primary coating from

tip of fibre.
2. Clean bare fibre with isopropyl alcohol using lint
free swipes. Stroke from coating to fibre tip.
3. Cleave stripped clean fibre to 10mm length.
4. Insert fibre in ‘v’ groove on one side of fusion
splicer close but not touching the electrodes.
5. Slide reinforced protector sleeve on the other core
to be sliced and repeat steps 1 to 4. 26
 Cont’d
Steps to splicing
6. Close the dust covers on the machine, which when
set to automatic will automatically splice,
otherwise press the arc button.
7. After completion of the fusion process. Open the
dust cover and fibre clamps to remove fibre.
8. Pull sleeve over fused point and place in oven.
9. After the beep to indicate heat shrink sleeve is done.
Remove the fibre and arrange fibres in the
organizer. 10. Repeat for all the other cable cores.
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 Cont’d
Insert sleeve protector onto one fibre

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 Cont’d
Strip fibre

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 Cont’d
Clean fibre

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 Cont’d
Cleave fibre

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 Cont’d
Place fibre on v-groove

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 Cont’d
Machine displays process on screen

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 Cont’d
Remove fibre and position sleeve

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 Cont’d
Place sleeve in oven

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 Cont’d
Remove the completed splice

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 Cont’d
Organize fibre inside the enclosure

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 Review questions number 5:
1.State two situations where splicing is required.
2.Cleaning or cleaving, which step comes first.
3.Highlight the method used to guard a fused point.
4.Detail three safety precautions to observe when
splicing.
5.Point three types of tools necessary when splicing.
6.Describe the place where fibre is placed for splicing
on a splicing machine.
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Optical fibre connectors
SC and ST Connectors

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 Cont’d
SC and LC Connectors

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 Cont’d

Most fiber optic connectors are plugs or so-called

"plug" or "male" connectors with a protruding
ferrule that holds the fibers and aligns two fibers
for mating.
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 Cont’d
Fibre terminated and arranged in a patch panel

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 Cont’d
Physical connectors

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 Cont’d
Indoor wall mounted fusion box

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 Cont’d
FTTC FIBRE CABINET

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 Cont’d
FC Connectors in use

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 Managing optical fibres
Fiber Optic Safety Rules
 When working with fiber optics, all employees performing any
splicing or termination activities should always wear safety glasses
with side shields.
 Any other employees or site managers entering the work area should
wear safety glasses with side shields also.
 Unless an employee is absolutely sure there is not a light source at the
other end, they should never look directly into the end of the cable.
 A power meter can be used to make certain the fiber is dark.
 While working with fiber optics, the worker needs a well-ventilated
and well-lit work area. Workers must avoid smoking while working
with fiber optics.
 All food and beverages should be kept out of the work area.
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 Managing optical fibres (cont’d)
 Workers can wear disposable aprons to keep fiber particles off their
clothing.
 Before leaving the work area, an employee should always check their
clothing for pieces of stray fiber, and if any are found, they can
remove it with double-sided tape.
 A worker should wash their hands thoroughly before touching their
eyes, and contact lens wearers should wash their hands before
touching their lenses.
 Workers should also read all instructional material before handling
chemicals.
 A disposable container that can be tightly closed must be used for
fiber scraps.
 When finished with a fiber optic job, all cut fiber pieces should be
disposed of properly along with any used chemicals and containers. 48

The work area should be thoroughly cleaned when job is completed.

 Managing optical fibres (cont’d)
Tools required;
 (OTDR) Optical time domain reflectometer-to
investigate the condition of a fibre cable.
 Light source-to transmit predetermined power
levels
 Power meter-to measure received power.
 (VFL) Visual fault locator-for visual continuity
tests.
 Live fibre detector-to detect live fibres without
breaking them.
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 Fibre testing with an OTDR

Before commencing, testing the following should be

set on the OTDR;
 The range or length of the link under test.
 The operating frequency used on the link.
 The testing pulse width of the OTDR.
 The acquisition time for the OTDR.
 The correct connector must be used to connect the
fibre under test (FUT) to the OTDR.
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Cont’d

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 Cont’d
EXFO 720C OTDR

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 Cont’d
Screen shot of an OTDR test result
The labelled spikes on the graph below shows
points of high reflections along the fibre. A
break on a fibre will also show as a reflection
at the point of break.

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 Cont’d
OTDR output showing the result of the FUT above the trace

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Factors to consider when designing optical fibre systems

The labelled spikes on the graph below shows

points of high reflections along the fibre. A
break on a fibre will also show as a reflection
at the point of break.

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 Review questions number 6:
1.State three factors to be considered when designing a
fibre system.
2.Compare a single mode and a multimode fibre.
3.Indicate the type of tools necessary for managing
fibre links.
4.Show by a simple drawing how an fibre break is
depicted on an OTDR.
5.Explain the use of a VFL.
6.Highlight the light source used in a SM fibre system.
7.Describe the function of a cladding. 56
Doom enclosure

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END OF LESSON 3 A

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