Contents
Preface vii
1 Optic fiber and light – a brilliant combination 1
2 What makes the light stay in the fiber? 10
3 The choice of frequency 18
4 Propagation of light along the fiber 23
5 Decibels 40
6 Losses in optic fibers 52
7 Dispersion and our attempts to prevent it 61
8 Real cables 71
9 Connecting optic fibers – the problems 87
10 Fusion splicing 97
11 Mechanical splices 108
12 Connectors 113
13 Couplers 133
14 Light sources and detectors 147
15 Testing a system 156
16 System design – or, will it work? 175
17 The transmission of signals 192
18 Designing an optical system and selecting components 201
19 LANs and topology 212
20 Some final thoughts 220
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