In 1970, the construction of fiber-optic communication lines was started by Corning, which was recognized as the start of a new industry. Today, the development of fiber optic technologies outstrips the rest of the world economy, increasing fiber output by 40% per year! The main developer and licensor of these technologies - the US - in recent years has produced 10 million kilometers of optical fiber, which is equivalent to 250 girth around the equator. Fiber-optic communication lines are an ideal medium for information exchange. Their property - to share a signal to millions of consumers - there is no alternative. They, like nerve endings, transmit signals between continents, countries, regions, within the city, through the enterprise, forming fiber-optic communication lines (FOCL).
Their active elements transform, form, amplify the transmitted light signal. We list them. The source of monochromatic-coherent radiation is a laser. Modulators create a light wave, which varies according to the structure of the input electrical signal. Multiplexers combine and disconnect signals. Regenerators restore the parameters of the optical pulse. The photodetector produces the reverse transformation: light - electricity. Fiber-optic communication lines have significant advantages: they are relatively easy to install by means of couplings, they are able to transmit a light signal practically without loss, reliably protect information.
Among the global fiber-optic communication lines, the most numerous are transatlantic ones. They connect the countries of Europe with the United States and Canada. The largest in length - the trans-Pacific, bringing the United States closer to Japan, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Hawaii. Laying of fiber-optic communication lines is carried out by specialized vessels. Russia also participates in similar projects. Last year the construction of a line connecting Kamchatka, Sakhalin and Magadan was started. Note that for fiber-optic fiber-optic fiber, a fiber with core / shell dimensions of 1.3-1.55 μm is used.
The state is interested in regional FOCLs between the center and the districts and within the cities. They are made up of gradient fibers - 50/125 microns. Large enterprises use fiber-optic communication lines to improve management on the model of "electronic office", as well as for automation of production. It is characteristic that the developed countries (among them - Japan, England, Italy, France) use only optical fiber for construction. The regional level corresponds to a faster, less loss factor, single-mode cable. A cheaper and easier to install multimode cable is suitable for the enterprise. Optical fiber is used as a temperature, pressure, voltage sensor. It is used in hydrophones, sonar, seismology, navigation. Used in security systems, alarm systems.
To summarize, we should make a logical emphasis on the fact that this technology has not yet exhausted itself, being at the middle point of its development. Leading manufacturers of CISCO, 3COM, D-LINK, DELL, ALLIED TELESYN in every way modernize optoelectronic products. A new multimode (cheaper technology) optical fiber with improved characteristics has been developed. Optical connectors with simplified manufacturing standards have been designed (the current ones assume accuracy up to a micron). For more effective transmission of the light signal, innovative planar laser diodes equipped with a vertical resonator are developed. Studies are in progress in the field of structured cabling systems.