Fiber Optic Essentials

Chapter 8 Fabrication and Measurement

In this chapter we will discuss the standard equipment needed to fabri-

cate optical fiber cables and components, including topics such as fiber

drawing, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), molecular beam epitaxy,

and photolithography.

There are many tests of fiber optics systems that can be done with

standard laboratory equipment, such as the fiber optic test procedures

referenced in the chapter on industry standards. For example, a digital

sampling oscilloscope (DSO) used with a pattern generator can be used

to characterize the waveform of an optical transmitter. However, in this

section we will discuss several pieces of measurement equipment unique

to fiber optics. These include the fiber optic power meter which mea-

sures how much light is coming out of the end of a fiber optic cable.

Optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR) can non-destructively mea-

sure the location of signal loss in a link. BER can also be tested using a

pattern generator and an error detector.

8.1 Fabrication Techniques

In this section, we will briefly describe the principles and apparatus used

to fabricate optical fibers and related components. There have been many

approaches over the years, some of which will be noted here for reference

although they are less commonly used today.

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