Difference Between Single Mode And Multimode Fiber Cable

The main difference between single mode and multimode optical fiber is the size of the core.

Difference between single mode and multimode fiber cable.

Single mode fiber optic cable has a small diametral core that allows only one mode of light to propagate. Singlemode cables have a core of 8 to 10 microns. Multimode cables are made with thicker cores than single mode cables typically around 50 60 μm. Designed for long distance communication a single mode fiber cable allows light signals to travel more than 10 miles a much longer distance than multimode.

Much larger than the wavelength of the light carried in it. Multimode fiber has two types of light propagation step index and graded index while single mode fiber has only one step index. Single mode fiber optic cable. Multimode fiber cable is prefixed with om and single mode fiber cable is prefixed with os.

The differences between single mode and multimode fiber mainly lies in fiber core diameter wavelength light source bandwidth color sheath distance and cost. Single mode means the fiber enables one type of light mode to be propagated at a time. In single mode cables light travels toward the center of the core in a single wavelength. Transmission distance is affected by chromatic dispersion because the core of single mode fibers is much smaller than that of multimode fibers.

Because of this the number of light reflections created as the light passes through the core decreases lowering attenuation and creating the ability for the signal to travel further. While multimode means the fiber can propagate multiple modes. Because multimode fiber is thicker it can accommodate more signals for greater bandwidth. Single mode fiber has a core that measures around 5um while the multimode fiber core measures 50um or more.

The main difference between singlemode and multimode fiber patch cables is the size of their respective cores. And the light propagation reduces less in the single mode fibers transmission than that of multimode fibers. While multimode is faster than single mode it also has a shorter maximum distance. The light propagation between single mode fiber and multimode fiber is totally different.

These larger cores have more space for bouncing lasers down the length of the cable which increases signal speed. Some studies report a difference of 100 000 ghz. And it is also the reason why single mode fiber can have longer transmission distance than multimode fiber.