With the further development of the trend of “optical advance and copper retreat”, optical fiber gradually replaces traditional copper cable and becomes the mainstream of network communication. So what are the advantages of optical fiber transmission compared to copper cables? This article will ask you to answer.
1. Wide Bandwidth and fast speed
Theoretically, the frequency band of optical fiber can reach 3 billion megahertz. Although the optical fiber has different losses for different frequencies of light, the frequency bandwidth in the lowest loss region can also reach 30,000 GHz. The use of advanced coherent optical communication can realize the arrangement of 2000 optical carriers in the range of 30000GHz, and perform wavelength division multiplexing, which can accommodate millions of channels. At the same time, the optical fiber transmission speed is fast, which can provide high-speed bandwidth of 10Mbps, 100Mbps, and 1000Mbps, and realize two-way data synchronization transmission.
2. Light weight and small size
Because the optical fiber is very thin, the diameter of the single-mode optical fiber core wire is generally 4um ~ 10um, and the outer diameter is only 125um, plus the waterproof layer, reinforcing ribs, sheath, etc., the diameter of the optical fiber cable composed of 4 to 48 fibers is less than 13mm. It is much smaller than the 47mm diameter of the standard copper coaxial cable (as shown in the figure below), and the optical fiber is glass fiber with a small specific gravity, which makes it have the characteristics of small diameter and light weight. One kilometer of bare fiber weighs only 27 grams. This feature of optical fiber makes its laying method convenient and flexible, which can be directly buried, pipeline laying, underwater and overhead.
3. Large communication capacity
Theoretically, an optical fiber as thin as a human hair can transmit 100 billion voice channels at the same time. Although such a high transmission capacity has not yet been achieved, the experiment of simultaneously transmitting 240,000 voice channels with one optical fiber has been successful, which is dozens or even thousands of times higher than traditional open wires, coaxial cables, microwaves, etc. above. The transmission capacity of an optical fiber is so huge, and an optical cable can include dozens or even thousands of optical fibers. If the wavelength division multiplexing technology is used to use one optical fiber as several or dozens of optical fibers, its The communication capacity is even more astonishing.
4. Low loss and long transmission distance
Generally speaking, the attenuation per kilometer of optical fiber access is more than an order of magnitude lower than the attenuation per kilometer of the communication coaxial cable with the largest capacity. If matched with appropriate optical transmitting and optical receiving equipment, the relay distance of optical fiber can reach more than hundreds of kilometers. The transmission distance of ordinary copper wire (data wire) is only a few hundred meters. Therefore, optical fiber communication is especially suitable for long-distance primary and secondary trunk communication.
5. Confidentiality and strong anti-interference ability
Optical fibers only transmit light, do not conduct electricity, and are not affected by electromagnetic fields. Therefore, optical fibers have strong resistance to electromagnetic interference and industrial interference. It is precisely for this reason that the signals transmitted in optical fibers are not easy to be eavesdropped, so the confidentiality is strong.
6. Abundant sources of raw materials and low potential prices
The most basic raw material for making silica fiber is silicon dioxide (SiO2), that is, quartz. Quartz is inexhaustible in nature. Therefore, the potential price of optical fiber is very low.
7. Reliable working performance
Optical fiber transmission loss has two characteristics, one is that it has the same loss in all cable TV channels, and there is no need to introduce an equalizer for equalization like a cable trunk; Fluctuations in mains level caused by changes. Therefore, optical fiber transmission is safe and stable, and can be used in dangerous places such as flammable and explosive.
8. Strong chemical corrosion resistance and long service life
The material of the optical fiber itself is quartz (SiO2), and the outer packaging material is generally a special engineering plastic, which has extremely high corrosion resistance, so it is very adaptable to the environment and has the characteristics of acid and alkali resistance.
9. Easy to expand
A standard optical fiber dedicated line with a bandwidth of 2M can easily be upgraded to 4M, 10M, 20M, up to 100M, and no need to replace any equipment.
10. Less metal is used, which is conducive to the rational use of resources
The core of the copper cable is made of copper, which uses a lot of metal and has a large quality, which is not conducive to the rational use of resources, and will also cause the phenomenon of theft of the cable. The optical fiber is made of silica, which uses less metal and is light in weight, which is not only conducive to laying, but also to the rational use of resources.
