Fiber Optics

Abstract

AbstractThe article contains sections titled:1.Introduction2.Structure of Optical Fibers2.1Basic Structure2.2Multimode Fibers2.3Single‐mode Fibers2.4Dispersion‐modified Fibers2.4.1Dispersion‐shifted Fibers2.4.2Nonzero Dispersion‐shifted Fiber2.4.3Dispersion‐flattened Fibers2.5Functional Fibers2.5.1Dispersion‐compensating Fibers2.5.2Rare‐earth‐doped Fibers2.5.3Polarization‐maintaining Fibers3.Raw Materials and Production3.1Silica Fibers3.1.1Preform Production3.1.1.1Modified Chemical Vapor Deposition (MCVD) Method3.1.1.2Outside Vapor Deposition (OVD) Method3.1.1.3Vapor‐Phase Axial Deposition (VAD) Method3.1.1.4Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition (PCVD) Method3.1.2Fiber Drawing3.2.Non‐silica Fibers3.2.1Multicomponent Glass Fibers3.2.2Plastic Cladding Fibers3.2.3All‐plastic Fibers3.2.4Infrared Fibers4.Characterisitics of Optical Fibers4.1Transmission Loss4.2Dispersion4.3Multimode Dispersion4.3.1Chromatic Dispersion4.3.2Polarization Mode Dispersion4.4Nonlinearity5.Reliability of Optical Fibers5.1Mechanical Strength5.2Hydrogen‐induced Loss Increase5.3Radiation‐induced Loss Increase6.Applications of Optical Fibers6.1Optical Fiber Cables6.2Fiber Connection Technologies6.3Optical Fiber Sensors7.Future Prospects7.1New Fibers7.1.1Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF)7.1.2Holey Fiber (HF)7.1.3Photonic Band‐gap Fiber (PBGF)7.2New Systems7.2.1Soliton System7.2.2Code Division Multiplex (CDM)The optical fiber is one of the most important key technologies that support the current information technology (IT) era. Optical fibers are now widely used not only as an excellent transmission medium for optical communication but also as optical functional devices, such as optical amplifiers. Both optical fibers and their manufacturing technologies have evolved dramatically toward higher performance and improved productivity. Their applications have also been expanded from optical communication to a variety of fields, such as optical sensors. This article reviews various aspects of optical fibers: structures & materials, fabrication techniques, optical characteristics & reliability, and applications.