Multi Mode fibre optic cable

MULTIMODE AND SINGLE MODE One of the first things to determine when choosing fiber optic cables is the “mode” of fiber that you need. The mode of a fiber cable describes how light beams travel on the inside of the fiber cables themselves. It’s important because the two modes aren’t compatible with each other — you can’t substitute one for the other. There’s really not much variety with single mode patch cords, but there is for multimode. There are varieties described as OM1, OM2, and OM3. Basically, these varieties have different capabilities around speed, bandwidth, and distance, and the right type to use will depend mostly upon the hardware that is being used with them, and any other fiber that the patch cords will be connecting to. Single-mode optical fiber generally has a core diameter of 9 µm and requires laser technology for sending and receiving data. It can carry a signal for miles, which makes it ideal for telephone and cable television providers. As the name suggests, multimode fiber permits the signal to travel in multiple modes, or pathways, along the inside of the glass strand or core. It is available with fiber core diameters of 62.5 µm or 50 µm. Although the core sizes of single-mode fiber and multimode fiber differ, both fiber types end up with an outer diameter of about 250 µm.