Difference Between Multimode And Single-Mode Optical Fiber Cables

Fiber optic cable has the capability of transmitting data at a long distance and at high speed. This paper discusses the difference between multimode fiber and single-mode fiber, and the data transmission distance between these two types of optical cable at the rate of 10 0Mb to 40G.

Fiber optic cable is made of high purity quartz glass, which can transmit light from one end of the cable to the other and minimize data loss. These cables are manufactured on various specifications according to the type of material used for construction and the number of optical fibers in it.

Fiber optic cables are usually divided into two types, multi-mode optical cable and single-mode optical cable.

Multimode optical fiber cable

Because of the different materials in their core, they can carry many kinds of light at the same time. Because the core diameter is large and there are many optical pulse transmission modes, the connection can be simplified. The light that travels the shortest distance (through the middle of the core) will be the slowest. The multimode cable usually has a diameter of 50-100 microns. At medium distance, these cables provide higher bandwidth and higher speed. These optical fiber cables are considered to be more suitable for "domestic" needs. They are used in local area networks, such as FTTH, and can reach the speed of 100gbps in Ethernet.

Single mode optical cable

The diameter of the single-mode fiber optic cable is about 8.5-10 microns, designed for direct long-distance transmission of optical pulses, up to 100 km. As the name suggests, it is a single strand of glass fiber. Using single transmission mode, it can transmit 1310 or 1550 nm. Single mode optical fibers are usually used for long distance LAN, cable TV and telephone applications.

Compared with multi-mode cable, single-mode cable has higher bandwidth, and its transmission core can be increased by 50 times because of its smaller core.