Three types fiber optic cable based on Fiber types

Based upon fiber types in a cable, fiber optic cables can be categorized as three types.

Single Mode Fiber Optic Cable-All fibers in the cable are single mode fibers

Single mode fiber is a single stand (most applications use 2 fibers) of glass fiber with a diameter of 8.3 to 10 microns that has one mode of transmission. Single Mode Fiber with a relatively narrow diameter, through which only one mode will propagate typically 1310 or 1550nm. Carries higher bandwidth than multimode fiber, but requires a light source with a narrow spectral width.

Single Mode fiber is used in many applications where data is sent at multi-frequency (WDM Wave-Division-Multiplexing) so only one cable is needed - (single-mode on one single fiber)

Single-mode fiber gives you a higher transmission rate and up to 50 times more distance than multimode, but this fiber optic cable price is highter. Single-mode fiber has a much smaller core than multimode. The small core and single light-wave virtually eliminate any distortion that could result from overlapping light pulses, providing the least signal attenuation and the highest transmission speeds of any fiber cable type.

Multimode Fiber Optic Cable - All fibers in the cable are multimode fibers.

Multi mode Fiber has a little bit bigger diameter, with a common diameters in the 50-to-100 micron range for the light carry component (in the US the most common size is 62.5um). Most applications in which Multi-mode fiber is used, 2 fibers are used (WDM is not normally used on multi-mode fiber). POF is a newer plastic-based cable which promises performance similar to glass cable on very short runs, but at a lower cost.

Multimode fiber gives you high bandwidth at high speeds (10 to 100MBS - Gigabit to 275m to 2km) over medium distances. Light waves are dispersed into numerous paths, or modes, as they travel through the cable's core typically 850 or 1300nm. Typical multimode fiber core diameters are 50, 62.5, and 100 micrometers. However, in long cable runs (greater than 3000 feet [914.4 meters), multiple paths of light can cause signal distortion at the receiving end, resulting in an unclear and incomplete data transmission so designers now call for single mode fiber in new applications using Gigabit and beyond.

Hybrid/Composite Cable-Both single mode and multimode fibers are packaged in one cable

Both single mode and multimode fibers are packaged in one cable, such as 4 multimode fibers and 4 single mode fibers in a single cable. Hybrid fiber cable offers the same great benefits as our standard indoor/outdoor cables, with the convenience of installing multimode and singlemode fibers all in one pull. Our composite cables offer optical fiber along with solid 14 gauge wires suitable for a variety of uses including power, grounding and other electronic controls.

Hybrid fiber cable or composite fiber optic cable is designed for integrating voice, data, video and power. They are used in control, distribution and signaling systems applications. Perfect for surgical tools, sensing equipment and sensors, MRI suites, oncology suites and x-ray rooms. FiberStore can manufactur single-mode and multimode hybrid cables and composite cables with any length.