7.2 NETWORK TESTING, CHARACTERIZATION,
AND MONITORING CHALLENGES FOR PON
7.2.1 Fiber’s Key Characteristics
The key characteristic of a fiber link is the power loss that is caused by fiber
attenuation and fiber connections. Attenuation, defined as the ratio of the input
power to the output power, is the loss of optical power as light travels along the
fiber. Attenuation in an optical fiber is caused by absorption, scattering, and
bending losses. The fundamental physical limits imposed on the fiber attenuation
are due to scattering of the silica atoms at shorter wavelengths and the material
absorption at longer wavelengths. There are two minima in the loss curve, one near
1:3 mm and an even lower one near 1: 55 m m. Fiber bending can also induce power ...