10 good practices for working with fiber optics

1. Cleaning. Cleaning tools for fiber optic installations

Possibly one of the most important aspects to take into account when working with fiber optics is cleaning.   The optical fiber is not affected by electromagnetic interference, but it is very sensitive to humidity and dirt.

A simple rub on the connector surface can even cause several dB of loss or attenuation in the system. There are different products on the market for proper cleaning of fiber connectors. Although the most common is still a paper gauze and isopropyl alcohol.

2. Order. Color codes

Related to the previous point (since they go hand in hand) we have the order. The complexity of a fiber cable increases as the number of fibers in the same cable increases (reaching 512 FO).

The fibers are organized in microtubes inside a cable, these microtubes follow a color code to know at all times what is the numerical relationship of the fibers. There are several standards and color codes, depending on the type of cable and its modularity.

Maintaining the correspondence of the fibers when making a splice requires a high degree of order and discipline.   Plans or designs should always be followed so as not to make mistakes.

3. Watertightness. Proper sealing of the cable entry.

The best way to ensure that the fiber (fusions and connectors) maintains its properties without introducing attenuations in the system, is tightness. Once the fusion has been carried out or they face two connectors, the most appropriate thing is not to interfere with or allow external agents to interfere with them.

The elements to protect the fiber, from interior boxes to exterior boxes must have a level of tightness in accordance with the environmental exposure they may suffer. The IP XY (internal protection) standard defines different levels of protection against ingress of (X) dust and (Y) liquids.

One of the weakest parts against sealing, is usually the entry of cables in the boxes and the closure of the box itself.  You have to be extremely careful and follow the manufacturer's advice so that these parts are well sealed.

4. How to measure correctly. Gauges and measurement type, potentiometers / reflectometers

Measurement of a fiber optic system is a complex task and can be done in several ways and with different tools. A system must meet minimum and maximum power losses.

Potentiometers can be used to check the attenuation of the system, for this a source or transmitter inserts a light beam at a certain power at the beginning and at the end a power meter is placed that measures the incoming light beam power, from this way the difference between the input and output values ​​is calculated.

Reflectometers introduce a light beam, but in this case they analyze the resulting signal that reflects or bounces along the system at the same point in the system. By means of reflectometry, the signals can be analyzed graphically, taking at a glance the losses that appear in it.

5. Accommodating the fibers. Bending radii, fiber types G652 G657

Once the fusion is made, the excess fiber optic remains unprotected / without cover (bare with a thickness of 900 microns) with a length of approximately 1 meter. This surplus must be accommodated correctly, in the trays where the fusions are housed, for this the fiber is rolled up and stored.

It is important to know that the fiber cannot bend excessively, since losses would appear.   There are different types of fiber and each one allows a minimum bend radius.

6. Cable Retention, Aramid / FRP Core

The fiber optic cable construction has a reinforcing element used to protect it from jerks once it is installed in a box. This reinforcement is inside the cable and separated from the tubes where the fibers are housed. It is used to fix the end of the cable to the box, in this way in case of pulling the cable from the outside, the cable does not come off and the fusions and / or connections are protected. For each cable and box a number of Newton meters is determined that must withstand the traction.

Two of the most commonly used reinforcing elements are aramid yarns, a polyamide with highly resistant properties and the FRP core, it is a reinforced fiberglass.

7. Risk prevention. Work at height.

This aspect of work is common with other sectors, but no less important.   The regulations for the protection and prevention of occupational hazards must always be followed.

There are some specific aspects to take into account when working with fiber, correct handling of the fibers; If they can jump into the eyes or get into the hands (wear safety glasses and gloves), the light from a fiber optic produced by the fiber light generators can seriously damage the eye, even if the light is invisible.

8. Specific and quality tools. Fuser and cutter.

Working with fiber optics requires knowledge of specific tools that are not used in other fields , the most prominent being the fusion splicer and cutter. The fusion splicer works with micron precision to join two fiber optic cores, for this purpose, by means of two electrodes, they fuse the ends of the fibers.

To achieve a correct fusion it is very important that the ends of the fibers are clean cuts, without edges or burrs. To achieve this precision in the cut, a special cutter is needed, which fixes the fiber and passes a high precision circular knife to leave the fibers ready for fusion.

9. Breakdowns. How to detect them

A fiber optic communications system is relatively more stable and secure against breakdowns, but like any system accidents and breakdowns can occur. The most common are cuts or lack of continuity, but losses can also appear due to twisting of the cable or bending of the fiber.

The best tool for detecting faults is the reflectometer, since it can locate with great precision the distance at which the cut or loss is.

10. Losses, insertion and return. Attenuators

There are several types of losses in a fiber optic installation, the most common or the ones that are given the most attention are insertion loss and return loss.

Insertion losses are those that occur when a new element is added to the system, it can be a fusion, connectors, splitter, etc. These elements reduce the power of the signal, and are calculated as the difference in power between the input of the element and its output.

Return losses are measured as the difference in signal strength between the input and the reflection or bounce of light caused by the element. The greater this difference means that the lower the reflection or rebound, that is, the better the element will be top fiber optic companies

Fiber Optic Cable

Eland Cables supplies an extensive range of fiber optic cables, manufactured in  compliance with various international standards, such as IEC 60332-1, and covering a wide range of applications for indoor and outdoor installations fiber optic jobs salary.

Fiber optic cables are made up of glass filaments, each with the capacity to transmit digital data modulated in light waves. They efficiently send encoded information in a beam of light through a glass or plastic tube. A key advantage of fiber optic cables over metal conductor cables is their superior bandwidth performance, and therefore their best performance in transporting data. Fiber optic cables are generally lighter and less susceptible to electromagnetic interference. However, fiber optics tends to be more brittle than metal conductor cables fiber optic salary.

Fiber optic cables are used from telephone calls (supporting several million cable calls) to high-speed data transfer to vast computer networks.
FIBER OPTIC AND FIBER CABLE SELECTION
The type of optical fiber is determined by the application, the distance at which the signals must travel and the speed of the transmission. Therefore, the construction of the cable is chosen based on the environmental requirements of the installation, which can range from indoor installations through a dry wall in public areas where it is necessary to use LSZH materials (low smoke emission and halogen-free) to outdoor ground installations on a railway network. For mission-critical applications, all of our fiber optic cables are also available on request with flame retardant options (IEC 60331).

Eland Cables has extensive experience in specifying fiber optic cables. Our technical engineers work with clients, including the British Rail Authority (Network Rail), to develop new cable constructions that deliver optimum performance such as fiber optic railway cable . Contact us to study your application and the specific requirements of your project.

Fiber Optic Installation

At Unitel- Sistemas de Telecomunicaciones we are specialized in the installation of Fiber Optics. We carry out fiber optic cabling,  audits, certification and multimode and single-mode fusion, always developing and  delivering reflectometric and power measurements.

At Unitel- Sistemas de Telecomunicaciones we offer you global projects with a wide line of fiber optic cables from the best manufacturers (Brand-Rex, NordxCDT, Ortronics, Superior modular products, Avaya, Corning, AMP). Thus, we guarantee the suitability of the projects in which we participate and the unbeatable quality / price ratio of the fiber optic installations we carry out .

Advantages of Fiber Optic Installation

• State-of-the-art technology backed by Avaya's renowned Systimax Labs research and development labs. As well as, the Systimax Application Security and Extended Product Guarantee Program.
• Distance options that allow a complete solution with LazrSPEED 300 and 150.
• A wide variety of fiber cable, cabinets, trays and connectors that provide an end-to-end solution. Superior channel performance thanks to the combination of LazrSPEED fiber with LC connectors.
• Fiber ready to meet future requirements of 1Gb / s, 10Gb / s and even 40Gb / s .fibre optic installation jobs
• State-of-the-art bandwidth that grants an increase of 900% to 10Gb / s.
• Greater transition distance, since its performance can cover 95% of building backbones.
• Lower cost per bit, since it has more bits per fiber and a simpler electronic device for transmission at 10Gb / s.
• Full application coverage, from 20Kb / s to 10Gb / s.

What is fiber optics and how does it work?

WHAT IS FIBER OPTICS?

Fiber optics is a method of data transmission that consists of sending encoded information through a beam of light projected through a glass tube or pipe. It has its origins in the work of 19th-century scientists Jean-Daniel Colladon (a Swiss physicist who discovered that a continuous ray of light could shine through a water pipe through internal reflection) and John Tyndall (a physicist Irishman who formally demonstrated internal reflection to the Royal Society in London by illuminating the stream from a jug of water.)

AND HOW DO FIBER OPTIC CABLES WORK?

Fiber optic cables are made of very thin strands of glass or plastic, each of which is less than a tenth the thickness of a human hair. These threads are known as optical fibers, and each of them is capable of transmitting around 25,000 phone calls. Fiber optic cables typically range from a minimum of two to several hundred strands optical works corporation.

To ensure uninterrupted light transmission, the glass used in the manufacture of optical fibers must be very pure, so the core of a cable is usually made of silicon dioxide. Surrounding this core is a somewhat different layer or coating of glass, which is usually infused or "doped" with remnants of elements such as boron or germanium.

The core and cladding are covered with a plastic cladding and a Kevlar or metal fiber cladding, and the entire assembly is sealed against water and dirt by a protective outer layer.

A complete cable can only be a few centimeters in diameter, with a core of only five to ten millionths of a meter.

LIGHT BOUNCING AROUND

Transmission through fiber optics is achieved when the photons or light particles that form a beam hit the glass walls of a fiber optic at a very shallow angle (forty degrees or less), and are reflected back as if hitting a mirror. This is known as total internal reflection, and ensures that all transmitted light remains within the tube.

The physical structure of the cable contributes to this, since the doping applied to the coating reduces its refractive index with respect to that of the core (different reflection characteristics) and effectively limits the light beam to the core of the fiber.

Continuous lengths of cable up to 100 km (60 miles) are possible, with light bouncing off the walls and reflected in the mainstream at speeds of about two-thirds of the natural speed of light when empty (which is about 300,000 km or 186,000 miles per second).

That is why there is normally an equipment booth located 80 to 100 km (40 to 60 miles) away on long distance transmission lines, to augment or retransmit signals along the next section of cable.

Fiber Optic, what it is and how it works

The fiber is interesting because it takes a very old concept that is the manipulation of light, is nothing more than that, the controlled manipulation of light. If we go back to history, the Egyptians themselves controlled the light through mirrors to illuminate inside the incredible pyramids ... Precursors of fiber optics?

Today the manipulation of light is controlled within a cable, with special terminations and on special plates that make transmission possible and that I will detail throughout this humble note.

By seeing in detail how fiber optics is composed, we will understand its advantages and disadvantages, as well as, we will have a global vision of this medium. This example is about a cable made up of many parts, you have to understand that there are many types of cables that adapt to different occasions (interior, exterior, etc.), but I took this as a reference because you can see in detail what elements can contain a cable. This will serve them because commonly in the fiber optic cable catalogs, it is specified what they are made of, therefore, knowing the components and for what they work, we will be able to choose the best cable for what we are assembling.

Structure of an optical fiber

1- Dielectric central element : this central element that is not available in all types of optical fiber, is a filament that does not conduct electricity (dielectric), which helps the consistency of the cable, among other things.

2- Moisture drainage thread : its purpose is for moisture to come out through it, leaving the rest of the filaments free of moisture.

3- Fibers : this is the most important part of the cable, since it is the medium through which the information is transmitted. It can be made of silicon (glass) or highly processed plastic. Here the physical phenomena of reflection and refraction occur. The purity of this material is what makes the difference to know if it is good to transmit or not. A simple impurity can deflect the light beam, causing it to be lost or not to reach its destination. As for the manufacturing process, it is very interesting and there are many videos and material on the network, but basically the strands (microns wide) are obtained by exposing glass tubes to extreme heat and through the dripping that occurs when melting, it is they get each one of them.

4- Loose Buffers : it is a small tube that covers the fiber and sometimes contains a gel that serves the same purpose, also making it a dark layer so that the light rays do not scatter out of the fiber.

5- Mylar tape : it is a thin polyester layer that many years ago was used to transmit programs to PC, but in this case it only fulfills the role of insulator.

6- Flameproof tape : it is a cover that serves to protect the cable from heat and flames.

7- Synthetic Kevlar threads: these threads help a lot to the consistency and protection of the cable, taking into account that Kevlar is a very good fire retardant, in addition to supporting the stretching of its threads how do fiber optics work.

8- Tear thread : they are threads that help the consistency of the cable.

9- Sheath : the upper layer of the cable that provides insulation and consistency to the set that has inside.

Now that we know how a cable is made up, let's see how it works. I am not going to detail the operation mathematically because it is not the idea, I am only going to talk about the two phenomena of optics that allow transmission and are the icing on the cake. Also on the network there is plenty of information to expand your knowledge.