Optical Communications Questions and Answers – Optical Fiber Cables

This set of Optical Communications Multiple Choice Questions & Answers (MCQs) focuses on ” Optical Fiber Cables”.

1. When optical fibers are to be installed in a working environment, the most important parameter to be considered is?
a) Transmission property of the fiber
b) Mechanical property of the fiber
c) Core cladding ratio of the fiber
d) Numerical aperture of the fiber
View Answer

Answer: b
Explanation: Nowadays, optical fibers are used alternatively to electric transmission lines. They are installed safely and maintained in all environments including underground areas. This requires mechanical strengthening of fibers in order to ensure proper transmission.

2. It is not important to cover these optical fibers required for transmission.
a) True
b) False
View Answer

Answer: b
Explanation: Unprotected optical fibers have number of losses regarding its strength and durability. Bare glass fibers are brittle and have small cross-section area that makes them highly susceptible to damages while handling and maintenance. Thus, to improve tensile strength, optical fibers should be covered by surrounding them with number of protective layers.

3. Optical fibers for communication use are mostly fabricated from ___________
a) Plastic
b) Silica or multicomponent glass
c) Ceramics
d) Copper
View Answer

Answer: b
Explanation: Silica or a compound of glass are brittle and have almost perfect elasticity until reaching their breaking point. Strength of these materials is high. Thus, optical fibers are fabricated from these materials.
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4. An Si-O bond with a Young’s modulus of 9*1010Nm-1 have an elliptical crack of depth 7nm. The surface energy is 2.29 J. Estimate fracture stress for silica fiber.
a) 4.32*109Nm-1
b) 6.32*109Nm-1
c) 5.2*109Nm-1
d) 3*109Nm-1
View Answer

Answer: a
Explanation: For an elliptical crack, the fracture stress is given by-
Sf = (2Eγp/πC)1/2
Where Sf = fracture stress
γp = surface energy
C = depth of crack.

5. Calculate percentage strain at break for a Si-O bond with a fracture strength of 3.52*1010Nm-1 and Young’s modulus of 9 *109Nm-1.
a) 3.1 %
b) 2.8 %
c) 4.5 %
d) 3.9 %
View Answer

Answer: d
Explanation: Young’s modulus is given by-
E = Stress/Strain
To calculate strain from the above formula, we have to divide stress by Young’s modulus. Therefore, Strain = Stress/E.

6. Stress corrosion must be considered while designing and testing optical fiber cables.
a) True
b) False
View Answer

Answer: a
Explanation: Stress corrosion means growth of flaws due to stress and water. This occurs as a result of molecular bonds at the tip of crack being attacked by water. Hence, it is important to have a protection against water to avoid stress corrosion.

7. Which statistics are used for calculations of strengths of optical fibers?
a) Edwin statistics
b) Newton statistics
c) Wei-bull statistics
d) Gamma statistics
View Answer

Answer: c
Explanation: Calculations of strengths are conducted using Wei-bull statistics in case of optical fibers. It describes the strength behavior of a system that is dependent on the weakest link of the system. The Wei-bull statistics gives the probability of failure of the optical fiber at a given strength.
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8. What does n denotes in the equation given below, if vc is the crack velocity; A is the constant for the fiber material and KI is the strength intensity factor?

vc = AKIn

a) Refractive index
b) Stress corrosion susceptibility
c) Strain
d) Young’s modulus
View Answer

Answer: b
Explanation: The above equation allows estimation of the time to failure of a fiber under stress corrosion conditions. The constant n is called as stress corrosion susceptibility. It is typically in the range of 15 to 50 for a glass.
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Sanfoundry Global Education & Learning Series – Optical Communications.

To practice all areas of Optical Communications, here is complete set of 1000+ Multiple Choice Questions and Answers.

If you find a mistake in question / option / answer, kindly take a screenshot and email to [email protected]

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Manish Bhojasia - Founder & CTO at Sanfoundry
Manish Bhojasia, a technology veteran with 20+ years @ Cisco & Wipro, is Founder and CTO at Sanfoundry. He lives in Bangalore, and focuses on development of Linux Kernel, SAN Technologies, Advanced C, Data Structures & Alogrithms. Stay connected with him at LinkedIn.

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