Principles of Fiber Optics
About the principles of fiber optics
The central part of a fiber optic system
is a light-transmitting cable containing at least one but more often a
bundle of glass or plastic fibers. This is terminated at each end by a
transducer. At the input end, the transducer
converts the signal from the electrical form in which most signals
originate into light. At the output end, the transducer converts the
transmitted light back into an electrical form suitable for use by
data recording, manipulation and display systems. These two
transducers are often known as the transmitter and receiver
respectively.
The arrangement described above is somewhat modified when the cable is
used directly as a sensor. In that case, the light injected into the
cable comes directly from a light source and does not originate as an
electrical signal. However, the same mechanisms have
to be used to get the light into the cable.
More Fiber Optic Sensors and Transmission Systems
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