Fiber Optics

A communication technology using
transmission of light through ultra-pure fibers
of glass, plastic, or other transparent media.
􀂙Rays of light propagate through a transparent
media by reflecting off its boundaries
􀁽 Total Internal Reflection

Fiber Optic - Historical Dates

1854: John Tyndall demonstrated
that light could be guided through
a stream of water based on the
principle of total internal reflection

1958: Invention of LASER
􀂙 1966: Experiments in England show that glass could be made
more transparent by reducing impurities -- minimizing light loss
􀂙 1967:Losses in optical fiber reported at 1000dB/km
􀂙 1987: losses at 0.16dB/km
􀂙 1988: ANSI introduce the Synchronous Optical Network (SONET)
􀁽 fiber WAN backbone
􀂙 1998: Dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM)
􀁽 80-color-band systems operating at 400 Gpbs