Single-mode fiber bandwidth-distance product

Single-mode fiber optic cables offer an unparalleled advantage over multi-mode wires in bandwidth and distance. They enable data transmission over long distances with relatively low signal degradation, making them useful for many long-distance telecommunication or data transmission. The term bandwidth–distance product (or bandwidth–length product) is often used in the context of optical fiber communications. That bandwidth is strongly related to the data rate (in Gbit/s). Dispersion limits fiber optic transmission distance by causing signal distortion and is classified into chromatic dispersion, modal dispersion, and polarization mode dispersion (PMD). Chromatic dispersion occurs when different wavelengths of light travel at different speeds within the fiber. Single mode fiber optic cable is made up of a small diameter glass or plastic core surrounded by cladding, which is a layer of reflective material. This small diameter core, typically around 9 microns in diameter, allows only one mode of light to pass through, resulting in a narrower beam of light. In fiber-optic communication, a single-mode optical fiber, also known as fundamental- or mono-mode, is an optical fiber designed to carry only a single mode of light - the transverse mode. Multi-mode fiber (MMF) uses a larger core, typically 50 or 62.