Fiberopticteknologiaan

Fiberopticteknologiaan is the Finnish term for fiber optic technology. In English, this field is known as fiber optic technology or fiber optics. It encompasses systems that use thin strands of glass or plastic—optical fibers—to transmit light and encode information. A typical fiber consists of a core that guides light and a cladding with a lower refractive index, enabling total internal reflection to keep the light confined along the length of the fiber.

Two main fiber types are used: single-mode fibers, with a small core that supports one propagation mode for long-distance high-bandwidth transmission, and multimode fibers, with a larger core suitable for shorter distances and lower cost. Modern networks often employ wavelength-division multiplexing to send multiple signals simultaneously over the same fiber by using different light wavelengths.

Applications include telecommunications and Internet infrastructure (long-haul, metro, and access networks), home and business fiber to the home (FTTH/FTTP), medical imaging and endoscopy, and various sensing technologies such as distributed acoustic sensing and fiber Bragg grating sensors. Fiber lasers and amplifiers are another important area, using doped fibers as gain media.

Key advantages are high bandwidth, low signal loss over long distances, immunity to electromagnetic interference, and the potential for compact, robust form factors. Challenges include fiber fragility, precision splicing and connectorization, sensitivity to bending and microbends, and cost of deployment. Ongoing research focuses on increasing capacity, reducing losses, improving sensors, and integrating photonics with electronics.