With the rapid development of modern communication technology, the communication industry requires a system and network with a wide transmission bandwidth, strong anti-interference capability, reliable security performance, and large information transmission capacity to replace the traditional communication systems with their disadvantages of narrow spectrum, strong noise interference, low stability and reliability, and low transmission quality and capacity. Optical fibers for communication have advantages such as large capacity, strong anti-interference, and low cost, making them the primary networking material used in the communication industry. With the development of the communication industry, fiber optic communication technology has experienced rapid growth in the past 30 years. It has been widely applied in many fields such as postal and telecommunications, power, and military. The communication industry should attach great importance to the research and application of fiber optic communication technology and envision the development of fiber optic communication technology. The communication industry should recognize the importance of fiber optic communication technology and optical fibers in practical communication work, have the correct attitude towards fiber optic communication technology, accelerate the application of optical fibers in various fields and scopes, and accelerate the development of the communication industry at the levels of communication equipment and communication technology.
1.Characteristics of Fiber Optic Communication Technology
Currently, the application of fiber optic communication technology in the global communication field presents a thriving momentum. According to reliable data, the total length of optical cables used for communication purposes in various industries has exceeded 4,000 kilometers, and most countries have basically completed the construction of 10G fiber optic communication networks. The main reasons why fiber optic communication has been widely applied in the communication industry and has become the leading direction for future communication development are as follows:
1.1 Large Capacity of Fiber Optic Communication
Fiber optic communication relies on the principle of total reflection for information transmission. Light is a transverse wave, and different wavelengths have little direct interference with each other. Therefore, the transmission capacity of optical fibers is extremely large, which cannot be achieved by traditional metal communication lines.
1.2 Low Loss of Fiber Optic Communication
Since the signal in fiber optic communication is transmitted in the form of light waves, the energy demand is relatively low and can be negligible. The energy consumption of fiber optic communication is only 0.1~1% of that of metal lines.
1.3 Small Attenuation of Fiber Optic Communication
The attenuation rate of fiber optic communication is an order of magnitude lower than that of coaxial cables, and for communication transmission over medium and shorter distances, it is unnecessary to establish repeater stations. This not only ensures the security of information during the transmission process but also helps reduce the cost of communication engineering.
1.4 Good Physical and Chemical Properties of Optical Fibers
Optical fibers have the advantages of small size and light weight, making them convenient for construction and transportation. Furthermore, optical fibers are generally composed of silicon dioxide, which is chemically very stable and has a relatively high resistance to corrosion from nature and the environment during construction and application.
1.5 Strong Anti-Interference Capability of Fiber Optic Communication
In the process of realizing communication, optical fibers will not suffer from electromagnetic interference that causes a decrease in communication quality and speed. At the same time, optical fibers have low external radiation during the communication process, providing high security and confidentiality.
2.Development Trends of Fiber Optic Communication Technology
Fiber optic communication technology has been a research topic in the communication industry since the 1970s. Entering the new century, fiber optic communication technology has gained opportunities for development, and various fields have become increasingly dependent on fiber optic communication technology, contributing more and more to society in combination with other industries. From a technical perspective and the direction of progress, fiber optic communication technology is mainly developing towards high-speed systems and large-capacity systems.
2.1 Development Direction of Ultra-High-Speed Fiber Optic Communication Systems
The development of traditional fiber optic communication has always followed the time-division multiplexing (TDM) method. Whenever the transmission rate increases by 4 times, the transmission cost per bit will also decrease by approximately 35%-45%. Therefore, in order to further reduce operating costs and ensure maximum economic benefits, modern communication companies will focus more attention on how to continuously increase the transmission rate of fiber optic communication technology. Although the emergence of high-speed systems has increased the business transmission capacity to a certain extent and has also provided the possibility for enterprises to develop and offer various new services, especially broadband services and multimedia, developed countries are currently deploying 10Gbps systems and have already begun large-scale network equipment deployment, with the number of installed terminals and repeaters exceeding 5,000 worldwide.
2.2 Development Direction of Ultra-Large-Capacity WDM Fiber Optic Communication Systems
According to theoretical calculations, the current exploitation of the transmission capacity of optical fibers is far from sufficient, with only 1% of the inherent capacity being utilized. Based on the transmission frequency of optical fiber transmission, there is still 99% potential to be further explored. Therefore, in order to effectively utilize the advantages of the large bandwidth and capacity of optical fibers, many research institutions and enterprises are striving to realize the simultaneous transmission of multiple light source signals with appropriately offset wavelengths on a single optical fiber, thus increasing the information transmission capacity of optical fibers, which is the basic idea of wavelength division multiplexing (WDM). By adopting wavelength division multiplexing, the enormous bandwidth resources of optical fibers can be fully utilized, allowing the capacity to rapidly increase by several times to hundreds of times. A current key development direction is to use WDM networks to realize high-speed switching and recovery functions in communication networks and, based on this, to achieve highly survivable optical interconnection.
3.Conclusion
In summary, the birth of optical fibers has been an important technological revolution for the communication industry. As communication technology has been increasingly applied in various industries, optical fibers have played an increasingly important role in postal and telecommunications, power, and military fields. Entering the new century, communication technology has seen significant improvements. With the further development and exploration of the communication industry and communication market, people have new demands for information quality, speed, and capacity, requiring a new type of material as the primary material for the communication network of the new era. Optical fibers emerged under the influence of this demand. Fiber optic technology can achieve long-distance, high-efficiency transmission of high-quality communication information, representing a new technological revolution in the communication industry. It plays a crucial role in overcoming the disadvantages of traditional systems, such as narrow spectrum, strong noise interference, low stability and reliability, and low transmission quality and capacity. The advantages of large capacity, strong anti-interference, and low cost of communication optical fibers should be leveraged to expand the widespread application of fiber optic communication technology in various industries and fields, improve the quality of fiber optic communication technology research and development, and develop communication industry technology in terms of materials, equipment, and science and technology.
