Advantages of Optical Fiber

The advantages of Optical links compared to wave-guides or copper conductors.

1. Extremely wide system bandwidths
• Certain types of fiber have been tested in the laboratory up to 40Ghz of bandwidth, with no limit in sight.
2. Immunity to electromagnetic interference
• External noise does not affect energy at the frequency of light
• Immune to every knid of electromagnetic noise, even lightning.
3. Lower signal attenuation
• Typical attenuation figures of a 1Ghz bandwidth signal for optical fibers are 0.03 db per 100 ft compared to 4.0 db for both RG-58/U coaxial cable and X-band wave guide
4. Light weight and smaller size
• The US navy once replaces conventional wiring the optical system. In this case, 224 ft of fiber optics weighing 1.52 lb replaced 1900 ft of copper wire weighing 30 lb
5. Lower Cost
• Optical fiber costs are continuing to decline while the cost of copper is increasing
6. Conservation of the earth's resources
• The world's supply of copper is limited while the principal ingredient in glass which is sand is cheap and in virtually unlimited supply.
7. Safety
• The dielectric nature of optic fibers eliminates the spark hazard.