Do You Know How To Choose The Right Optical Cable?

What is an optical cable?

Optical cables transmit data in the form of light pulses through flexible, optically pure glass. Optical cables are composed of five parts: the core, the cladding, the coating, the reinforcing parts and the outer sheath. The core is composed of high-purity silicon dioxide (SiO2) and a small amount of dopants, capable of transmitting light pulses generated by lasers or light-emitting diodes (leds). The cladding is a thin layer of glass (with a refractive index different from that of the core), which surrounds and protects the core of the optical fiber and reflects the light back to the core, allowing the optical signal to propagate along the length of the optical fiber. The coating layer is designed to absorb impact, prevent excessive bending and reinforce the core. The reinforcing parts are designed to protect the fiber core from excessive tension and compression, especially during installation. The outer sheath can protect the optical fiber from impact, moisture and other external influences.

Suggestions for choosing the right optical cable

1. Optical cable type

First of all, we should choose single-mode (SM) or multi-mode (MM) optical cables based on network applications and specifications. Generally, SM optical fibers are used for long-distance and outdoor applications, while MM multimode optical cables are used for short-distance and indoor applications.

 

2. Number of optical fiber cores

After choosing the type of optical fiber, we need to calculate how many optical fibers are required for network construction. This largely depends on the scale of FTTX (Fiber to x) and ODN (Optical Distribution Network) as well as the type of optical cable used.
The backbone optical cables from the data center to the distribution box can have cable cores ranging from 24 to 288. The number of cores in distribution optical cables is smaller compared to that in backbone optical cables. The FTTH incoming optical cables are generally 1-core or 2-core.

 

3. Deployment environment

We also need to consider the structure and material of the optical cable based on its deployment location.

Outdoor
When direct-buried optical cables are needed outdoors, loose-tube layer stranded armored optical cables are the best choice. This optical cable provides compression protection for both the optical fiber and the cable itself.

When in an overhead environment, optical cables that can support their own weight are a better choice. Self-supporting optical cables have reinforcing components, such as additional steel wires or FRP or aramid, to provide tensile strength. The most common self-supporting optical cables are figure-eight optical cables and ADSS optical cables.

Indoor
The flame retardant, low smoke and halogen-free (LSZH) characteristics of optical cables should be the first thing we pay attention to when using optical cables indoors. Under normal circumstances, we can confirm from the flame retardant grade and sheath material of low smoke zero halogen and other optical cables.

In pipeline environments, flame-retardant (FR) and low smoke zero halogen (LSZH) types are the most suitable choices for optical cables. In exposed indoor environments, flame-retardant, low smoke zero halogen (LSZH) optical cables need to be used.

Tight-sheathed optical fibers can offer excellent mechanical properties, such as a small bending diameter, softness and ease of stripping, making them suitable for indoor applications.

 

 

Building
When laying cables vertically or horizontally in buildings, it is recommended to choose tight-sheathed optical cables, bundled optical cables (D-type), or branch optical cables (B-type).

 

4. Connector

Connectors play a crucial role in establishing a secure optical fiber network. The main types of connectors include ST, FC, SC, LC and MTP. The ST connector is the most popular connector in telecommunication networks. It is spring-loaded, which means it can be connected and disassembled very easily. FC has a threaded body and is mainly used in high-vibration environments, polarized optical fibers and SM optical fibers. SC is a snap-on connector that can be locked by simple pushing and pulling. It is mainly used in SM optical fibers, duplex networks, CATV, media converters and FTTX. LC is a standard ceramic ferrule connector, which is half the size of the SC connector. It is mainly used in SM optical fibers, data centers, local area networks, FTTH, CATV, etc. The MTP/MPO connector offers a high-performance multi-core connector that is used in data centers.

Summary

In conclusion, these are several factors that we need to consider when choosing the right optical cable. With these conditions, I believe you can select the most suitable optical cable.