Minitutorial: Fiber and Cable

Optical fiber with its small size and high-information capacity has become a transmitting medium for audio, data, and video signal transmission. Remarkable progress has been made in the design and fabrication of low-loss single-mode and multimode fibers using processes such as modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD), vapor axial deposition (VAD), outside vapor deposition (OVD), plasma chemical vapor deposition (PCVD), and rf aided MCVD. Higher-information carrying capacity fiber with very long repeater spacing for telephone and video communication is now possible using low-loss (0.2 dB/km at 1550 nm) single-mode fibers with zero dispersion at desired wavelengths. Special concepts are used to make cables for telephony, data transmission, and military applications. Significant progress is being made in the fabrication of low-cost cable with negligible microbending loss for aerial, ground, and undersea application. A review of the various aspects of fabrication of optical fiber and cable mentioned above will be presented in detail in this tutorial paper.