Causes of Fiber Dispersion

In an optical fiber, an optical signal is composed of many different components. Due to the different propagation velocities of each frequency component or each mode component of the signal, after a certain distance through the optical fiber, a time delay difference occurs between the different components, causing the transmission signal waveform. Distortion, pulse broadening, a phenomenon called fiber dispersion.

Effects of Fiber Dispersion

The existence of fiber dispersion distorts and broadens the transmitted signal pulse, resulting in intersymbol interference. In order to ensure the communication quality, the inter-symbol interval must be increased, that is, the transmission rate of the signal must be reduced, which limits the communication capacity and transmission distance of the optical fiber system.

Classification of Fiber Dispersion

According to the causes of dispersion, fiber dispersion can be divided into modal dispersion, material dispersion, waveguide dispersion and polarization dispersion.