Specialty Fiber Optic Components

Specialty fiber optic components are specialty or proprietary products related to fiber optic systems. A basic fiber optics system has three parts: a fiber optics transmitter, a fiber optics receiver, and a fiber optic cable. In order for manufacturers to develop specialty fiber optic components that are compatible with today’s fiber optic systems, a number of standards have been developed. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) publishes several standards related to the characteristics and performance of the fibers themselves. Other standards set performance criteria for speciality fiber optic components and fiber optics equipment that are designed to be used together in conforming systems. These standards include: Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, fiber distributed data interface (FDDI), Fibre Channel, high performance parallel interface (HIPPI), synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH), and synchronous optical network (SONET).

One advantage of fiber optic systems is the rapid and continuous development of new product innovations. As a result, the fiber optics supply industry has grown rapidly to meet customer need for basic and specialty fiber optic components. Fiber optics suppliers can often provide specialty fiber optic components such as fiber optic cable, optical components, fiber optic test equipment, laser diodes, fiber optics cables, spectrum analyzers, and bandwidth meters. A specialty fiber optic component is often required for applications and environments where standard grade of optical fiber and or a standard fiber optic component will not work.

There are many applications for specialty fiber optics components. Today, fiber optics equipment is used widely in the telecommunications industry. Fiber optics products are also used in applications such as medicine, lighting, imaging, and sensing. Endoscopes and lasers are two common types of medical fiber optics products. An endoscope is an optical surgical instrument that is inserted through an incision. A small flexible tube with a light and lens is attached to a video camera, allowing medical personnel to view inaccessible areas. A fiber optics lamp can be used in lighting applications such as backlighting for liquid crystal displays (LCD), membrane switches, overlays and other displays.

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