The highly respected Allied Market Research Group the cable optical market is set to grow at a rate of 32.7% annually for the next six years and is expected to generate over $3,849 million by that time. The findings were published in a report titled the World Active Optical Cable Market and found the market had generated nearly half a billion dollars last year. Active optical cables have become hugely popular in the last few years and every enterprise seems to be installing them due to their enhanced network structure and increased efficiency of operations.
Introduction to optical cables
An optical cable is a fiber that carries light from one place to other without losing a large part of it due to reflection, absorption and refraction. These fibers are usually covered with layers of plastic and contained inside a thick tube that protects the optical cables from the outside environment. This outer layering is often dependent on the type of surroundings that this cable is going to be used in. Optical fibers have become very important in the telecom industry and are crucial in high speed data transfer using Local Area Network (LAN).
Safety regarding optical cables
Optical cable used in telecommunication often employs infrared light. This is a huge disadvantage because they cannot be seen by the human eye and thus the eye is defenseless against sudden exposure to bright infrared light since it cannot even detect it. The natural blink reflex of the eye is not triggered by infrared light and thus many technicians can face loss to their eyesight.
Now a day a lot of equipment like inspection microscopes comes with optical safety filters to prevent this and even viewing aids are provided in some cases. Another problem with optical cables is the danger caused due to small glass fragments that are produced during cleaving.
Reliability of optical cables
One of the main advantages of optical fibers of optical cables is their extraordinary reliability and quality. These optical cables are not only very strong but also extremely durable. The optical cable is better at handling stress from rough use during handing and the installation. It must also be taken into the account that the reliability of optical fibers depend on the environmental conditions they are exposed to. Often during the manufacturing process, microscopic surface flaws are sustained which might reduce the strength of the fiber by a huge extent.
