Difference Between Single Mode And Multimode Fiber Cable

Fiber optic cables used in telecommunication are broadly categorized in two types multimode fiber and single mode fiber cables.

Difference between single mode and multimode fiber cable.

Multimode fiber cable is prefixed with om and single mode fiber cable is prefixed with os. Because multimode fiber is thicker it can accommodate more signals for greater bandwidth. Single mode fiber optic cable. Much larger than the wavelength of the light carried in it.

While multimode means the fiber can propagate multiple modes. In single mode cables light travels toward the center of the core in a single wavelength. Because of this the number of light reflections created as the light passes through the core decreases lowering attenuation and creating the ability for the signal to travel further. While multimode is faster than single mode it also has a shorter maximum distance.

Comparison with single mode fiber the main difference between multi mode and single mode optical fiber is that the former has much larger core diameter typically 50 100 micrometers. The differences between single mode and multimode fiber mainly lies in fiber core diameter wavelength light source bandwidth color sheath distance and cost. The main difference between singlemode and multimode fiber patch cables is the size of their respective cores. And it is also the reason why single mode fiber can have longer transmission distance than multimode fiber.

Multimode cables are made with thicker cores than single mode cables typically around 50 60 μm. Transmission distance is affected by chromatic dispersion because the core of single mode fibers is much smaller than that of multimode fibers. Single mode fiber also accommodates much higher bandwidths than multimode. Some studies report a difference of 100 000 ghz.

These larger cores have more space for bouncing lasers down the length of the cable which increases signal speed. The main difference between single mode and multimode optical fiber is the size of the core. Singlemode cables have a core of 8 to 10 microns. Multimode fiber has two types of light propagation step index and graded index while single mode fiber has only one step index.

Designed for long distance communication a single mode fiber cable allows light signals to travel more than 10 miles a much longer distance than multimode. The light propagation between single mode fiber and multimode fiber is totally different. Single mode fiber has a core that measures around 5um while the multimode fiber core measures 50um or more.