Tag Archives: single mode fiber cable

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Multimode Fiber and Single Mode Fiber Cable

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Recently, fiber optic cable becomes more popular in telecommunication because of its great bandwidth, fast speed, long distance transmission and low cost. Single mode fiber and multimode fiber optic cables are important in many networks to transmit optical signals. Though they have the same working principle and functions, each of them has their own advantages and disadvantages.

Multimode and Single Mode Fiber Cable Overview

People who have work experiences with optical networks may be familiar with fiber optic cables. And they may know the basic structure and differences between multimode and single mode fiber optic cable. Here is a simple table showing the basic knowledge of them.

single mode fiber and multimode fiber cable

From the table we can see, multimode fiber cable has a larger core diameter. And it has multiple transmission modes, but they are only suitable for short distance connections. While single mode fiber has a small core diameter, through which only one mode will propagate typically 1310 or 1550nm. Because of that, these cables are often deployed in long distance transmission due to its less dispersion. Following is a direct-viewing picture shows the diameter differences between single mode fiber and multimode fiber cables.

single mode fiber cable vs multimode optical fiber

Advantages and Disadvantages of Single Mode fiber Cable

As has mentioned above, single mode fiber optic cable is more suitable for long runs applications when compared with multimode fiber cable. Except for this, single mode fiber cable also has other three advantages.

  • Increase bandwidth capacity.
  • Limited Data Dispersion & External Interference. The single input mode allows SMF to limit light scattering, which in turn reduce light waste and increase data transmission data.
  • Fast Transmission Speed. Single mode fiber cable can support data transmission speed up to 10Gbps.

Each coin has two sides. Single mode fiber cable also has disadvantages. The most one is the cost. Although it has better performance in long runs transmission than multimode fiber cable, single mode fiber cables often cost more.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Multimode fiber Optic Cable

With a larger fiber core and good alignment tolerances, multimode fiber cable and components are less expensive and are easier to work with other optical components like fiber connector and fiber adapter, when compared with single mode fiber cable. In addition, multimode fiber cable also provides high speed and high bandwidth over short distances. And they allows several mode optical signals transmitted at the same time.

However, multimode fiber cable has high dispersion and attenuation rate, the quality of optical signals is reduced as the transmission distance is getting longer. Therefore, multimode fiber cable is often used in data and audio/video applications in LANs.

Owning to their own characteristics, single-mode fiber cable and multimode fiber cable have different application areas. Based on the transmission distance and deployment budget, if the transmission distance is less than 10 miles, the multimode fiber cable is better, for it needs less expensive optical transceiver and other components. And if the distance is over 10 miles, single mode fiber will be needed.

Related Article: Single Mode vs Multimode Fiber: What’s the Difference?

Coaxial Cable And Fiber Optic Cable Which One Is Right For Your Particular Job

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Modern information network provides many possible way of passing information between computers, servers, network center, TV, radio and telephone. Two of the most popular way to make these connections coaxial cable and optical fiber cable. Both of these types of cable can be used for carrying video, audio, and other forms of data, and both can offer you distinct advantages and disadvantages in setting up the data network of your dreams.

Coaxial Cable

Coaxial cable has been widely used since about at the beginning of the twentieth century. This is a testimony to the resilience and cable quality, its universality has been able to unchallenged still more or less in their long life. Coaxial cable is the key to success is the shielding design, makes the copper core cable to transmit data fast, don’t succumb to interfere with or damage the environment factors.

All of the coaxial cable is composed of a copper core, and in turn surrounded by, and then a weaving dielectric insulation copper shield, finally a plastic sheath. These four layers allow coaxial cables to be deployed in almost any conveivable setting, and for most of the twentieth century, coax cables were the cable of choice of setting up almost every variety of communications network.

Originally, coax cable was used by the military to transmit radio and telephone signals.

Different types of coaxial cable are still differentiated today by the designation RG-a shortened version of the term Radio Guide, which was the military’s choice nomenclature for differentiating different types of cable.

As terrestrial and cable, coaxial cable into the more common everyday use. When the popularity of the internet, become China’s largest dielectric coaxial cable transmission of signals between computers all over the world.

Though coaxial cable has proven to be a resilient means of data transfer, it does have its drawbacks. Coax cables often fall victim to a phenomenon known as signal leakage, wherein imperfections in a cable’s shielding lead it to provide a weak signal that is subject to interference (this is how you wind up getting a fuzzy signal from your cable television connection).

Many different kinds of coaxial cable is available and that ir is important to find out which type is best for your data requirements, if the coaxial cable is you choose to use your network project.

Fiber Optic Cable

Whereas coaxial cable depend on the copper as medium to transmit data, the core components of the optical fiber cables simply select ultrafine glass known as silicon. Fiber optic cable is still a newly invented, only into widespread use in 1980s. Though usually more expensive than coaxial cable, optical fiber offers several advantages, will ignore any large-scale digital data network.

Instead of using electricity as a medium in which to pass information (as is the case with coaxial cables), fiber optic cable employ light to carry remarkably large amounts of data at a remarkably fast speed. Fiber optic cable will usually contains several silicon the spread of the “nuclear” increasing its capability of providing cable data transmission.

Optical fiber cable can be used in the single mode and multimode, single mode fiber cable provides a single transmission path and which data can be passed, and multimode cable provides several paths. Dual fiber optic cable can transmit data in both directions, and simplex fiber optic cable can transmit data only in one direction.

Because of their expense, relative novelty, and sophisticated design, fiber optic cables are found less frequently in residential and consumer settings than coaxial cables. Coax cables have earned a deserving reputation for being easy to install and more than able to take a beating. While fiber optic cables offer a higher quality of data transfer than coaxial cables, they are probably best employed for large-scale professional networks, such as those found within an academic or business campus. If home installation or medium-capacity data transfer is your goal, then you’d probably be better off sticking with coaxial cable.