The differences between optical fiber and fiber optic cable

Some people are confused with optical fiber and fiber optic cable. Now let’s talk about how to differentiate the two products. 

Optical fiber

Optical fiber is a type of medium which transmits light beam, it is small and flexible. Optical fiber is the core in the optical cable which is used for transmission. An optical fiber or optical fibre is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair.

Optical fiber application：

Optical fibers are used most often as a means to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber and find wide usage in fiber-optic communications, where they permit transmission over longer distances and at higher bandwidths (data rates) than wire cables. Fibers are used instead of metal wires because signals travel along them with less loss; in addition, fibers are immune to electromagnetic interference, a problem from which metal wires suffer excessively. Fibers are also used for illumination and imaging, and are often wrapped in bundles so that they may be used to carry light into, or images out of confined spaces, as in the case of a fiberscope. Specially designed fibers are also used for a variety of other applications, some of them being fiber optic sensors and fiber lasers. 

Fiber optic cable

Fiber optic cable is made up of fiber core, optical layer and external protective jacket. Fiber optic cable is commonly pointed to finished cable that has external protective jacket. An optical fiber cable, also known as fiber optic cable, is an assembly similar to an electrical cable, but containing one or more optical fibers that are used to carry light. The optical fiber elements are typically individually coated with plastic layers and contained in a protective tube suitable for the environment where the cable will be deployed. Different types of cable are used for different applications, for example long distance telecommunication, or providing a high-speed data connection between different parts of a building. 

So the difference between optical fiber and fiber optic cable is whether there is protective jacket. However, in reality, the optical fiber jumper wires which have connectors in the two ends of optical cable are also called optical fiber.

Sopto provides all kinds of optical fiber jumper wires and optical cables for our customers.For further information, please visit www.sopto.com or email to sales@sopto.com.

Tags: optical fiber and fiber optical cable, fiber optical patch cords