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What Cables Are Fiber Optics Used In?

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There are two basic cable designs that are used with fiber optics. The loose tube cable that is used in the majority of outside plant installations in North America, and tight buffered cable, used primarily inside buildings.

In a loose tube cable design, color coded plastic buffer tubes house and protect optical fibers. A gel filling compound obstructs water penetration. Excess fiber length insulates fibers from stresses of installation and environmental loading. Buffer tubes are stranded around a dielectric or steel central member, which serves as an anti-buckling element.

The cable core typically uses aramid yarn as the primary tensile strength member. The outer polyethylene jacket is extruded over the core. If armoring is required, a corrugated steel tape is formed around a single jacketed cable with an additional jacket extruded over the armor. Loose tube cables are normally used for outside plant installation in aerial, duct and direct buried applications.

With tight buffered cable designs, the buffering material is in direct contact with the fiber. This design is suited for jumper cables that connect outside plant cables to terminal equipment and also for linking various devices in a premises network.

Multi fiber, tight buffered cables are often used for intra-building, risers, general building and plenum applications. The tight buffered design provides a rugged cable structure to protect individual fibers during handling, routing and connection. Yarn strength members keep the tensile load away from the fiber.

As with loose tube cables, optical specifications for tight buffered cables should also include the maximum performance of all fibers over the operating temperature range and life of the cable.

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