Fiber Optics: The Future Of The Internet

Outline

• Fiber Optics What is it?

• Research Questions

• History

• What it does today

• Types of Cables

• The Future

Fiber Optics What Is It?

• Fiber Optics are cables that are made of optical fibers that can transmit large amounts of information at the speed of light. (www.dictionary.com)

Research Questions

• What can fiber optics do for us in the future?– Improve our communication– Faster internet connection

• What would the Internet look like if this could happen?– Streaming capabilities– Download capabilities

• What is being done to make this transition happen?– Government action– Private Companies at work

Research Resources

• Internet

• Library

• Magazines (IEEE)

History• 1961-“Industry researchers Elias Snitzer and Will

Hicks demonstrate a laser beam directed through a thin glass fiber. The fiber’s core is small enough that the light follows a single path, but most scientists still consider fibers unsuitable for communications because of the high loss of light across long distances.” (www.greatachievements.com.)

• 1970- Researchers find a way to super purify glass fibers.

• 1980- At&t installs first set of fiber optic cables in major cities.

History

• 1988- First transatlantic cable

• 1996- First transpacific cable

• 1997- First Fiber Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG)

Present

• Telecommunications

• Internet Access

• Cable and Satellite Television

• Decorative Light Source

The Cable

• Fiber Optic have three major characteristics– Composed of fibers either glass or plastic

and sometimes both

– Are very flexible

– Have different tips

Components

• Outside Jacket

• Cladding

• Core

Glass Fibers

Characteristics

• Glass Core

• Glass Cladding

• Ultra Pure Ultra Transparent Glass

• Made Of Silicon Dioxide

• Low Attenuation

• Popular among industries

Plastic Fibers

Characteristics

•Core Generally Consists Of Polymethyl Methacrylate (Acrylic Glass) (PMMA) Coated With A Fluoropolymer

•High Attenuation

•Used Mostly In Automotives

•Affordable

•Very Durable

Plastic Clad-Silica(PCS)

• Glass Fiber Core sometimes silicone

• Cladding is Plastic or silicone

• Silicone covering and insulators

• Not common

• Has Defects

Government Involvement

• United States Itself has fallen behind Europe

• Pace of fiber optic expansion has started to speed up again

• Research for having more soldiers at home base fighting using a robot

Private Companies Input

• Several Private Companies have offered large scale fiber optic networks

• Underground networks are already in place and are being used by secret societies

• UCSB itself has eight rings of fiber optic networks on campus

The Future

The Internet

• Bandwidths of up to 10Gbps

• Streaming Whole Movies in HD

• Effortless video conferencing with no lagging

• Gaming in HD quality that never lags