Dictionary of Electrical Engineering

Commonly used terms in the Electrical industry.

optical fiber
a single optical transmission fiber usually comprised of a cylindrical core (5-100 mm diameter) in which the light is guided of higher index of refraction surrounded concentrically by a cladding (125-250 mm diameter) with a lower index of refraction. More properly defined as an optical waveguide. Some optical fibers may have multiple concentric cores and/or claddings.

Optical fibers made be of all glass, all plastic, or a combination of glass core and plastic cladding construction. Optical glass fibers may be silica-or fluoride-based glass.
optical fiber signal distortion
a change in the temporal shape of an optical signal transmitted through an optical fiber caused by a combination of wavelength effects (dispersion) and multimode and polarization effects. The wavelength effects include material dispersion, profile dispersion, and waveguide dispersion. The multi-mode effects cause distortion by the differential time delays between the various modes propagating in a multimode fiber. The polarization effect causes distortion by the differential time delay between the two polarizations of a single mode.