ABSTRACT

This chapter describes some of the basic areas in which optoelectronic devices are used. Plastic optical fiber is made with a core and jacket, and is designed to have the lowest attenuation at 650 nm wavelength. It is typically used in controlled environments with relative short distances and data rates no higher than 100 Mbps. Glass fiber-optic cables are broken into two groups, multimode and single mode. A glass fiber-optic cable is made with a core, cladding, and jacket and is either single mode or multimode. Fiber cable should have a bend radius no less than 15 times the outside diameter of the cable. It is preferable to have the bend radius as large as possible to minimize loss of signal. The plastic or glass fiberoptic cable will withstand a relatively sharp bend radius.