Fiber cable design and characterization

Optical-fiber cable design differs from the design of metallic cables principally because of two factors: i) the physical properties of fibers are more limiting than those of metals, and ii) the transmission performance of a fiber can be altered by cabling operations due to a phenomenon called microbending. After reviewing these factors, methods are considered for mitigating their effects by appropriate design procedures. This leads to the consideration of different types of cable structures. In order to evaluate an optical cable design, it is necessary that its important mechanical and optical properties be characterized. The tensile, bending, and impact performance, as well as cabling added loss, temperature dependence of loss, and concatenated fiber bandwidth are then considered. The paper concludes with a discussion of "long-term" stability of optical cables.