Talk:Single-mode optical fiber

Dated statement

"Currently, data rates of up to 10 Gigabits/second are possible at distances of over 60 km with commercially available transceivers"

Surely, we can do better than that? That's the capacity of a single OC-192, and my understanding is that many OC-192s can be run over a single fiber at different wavelengths. From the article on DWDM:

"The first WDM systems combined two signals and appeared around 1985. Modern systems can handle up to 160 signals and can expand a basic 10 Gbit/s fibre system to a theoretical total capacity of over 1.6 Tbit/s over a single fiber pair."

--Jsnow 23:23, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

I have marked this with {{asof}}. ~KvnG 20:35, 8 November 2013 (UTC)

Discussion of Connectors

Why does this article spend a lot of time giving information on connectors which is not specific to single-mode fibers? Perhaps these portions should be moved to the optical fiber article.- Winston Spencer (talk) 03:01, 8 July 2011 (UTC)

I agree with Winston Spencer, that the Connector subchapter (, and the Optical Switch subchapter)should not be covered in the single-mode optical fiber article. Connectors are already described in the Optical fiber connector article. Sooner or later I will replace the subchapter by a link in the See also section Michilans (talk) 11:05, 8 October 2014 (UTC)

Merely providing a link to the the Optical fiber connector article would not be sufficient. What about actually covering the specific connector types (, and the issues associated with them), that are specific to single-mode fibers? Finding out this information is the reason I ended up at this article in the first place. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2602:306:3ABB:2B0:BEAE:C5FF:FE34:5910 (talk) 05:15, 15 February 2017 (UTC)

Apparent focus on TeleCom operator view only

As currently written, the article sounds like it is written entirely from the viewpoint, needs and standards of (US) telecom operators such as AT&T. Terminology, naming and even standards may be different in other relevant industries, such as the computer industry and the medical/photographic industry. Terms such as "outside plant", "customer premises" and references to Telcordia standards all seem to be from a Telecom viewpoint.

It may be a good idea to also describe this type of fiber-optic cabling as it is used outside telecom companies, e.g. for cabling in large computer installations. 77.215.46.17 (talk) 02:13, 4 July 2012 (UTC)

History

The history of single mode fiber should focus on Charles K. Kao who did his main work in the 1960s but is not currently mentioned. Instead the page states that "Huang Hongjia ...led a research team that successfully developed Single-mode optical fiber in 1980." GavinMorley (talk) 12:35, 26 May 2014 (UTC)

Modal dispersion

I added a citation needed after "...single mode fibers do exhibit modal dispersion...". My understanding is that in single mode fiber, having a core diameter of only about eight times the wavelength of light used in the fiber, the light energy travels as an electromagnetic interaction between the core and cladding. The core is indeed a waveguide and there is only a single mode. Rsduhamel (talk) 21:16, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

Criteria for Single-Mode fibers

Currently, the article only gives the fiber diameter as a criterium for single-mode operation. This appears to be highly inaccurate and only valid for standard telecom fibers - multi-mode fibers also exist for small core diameters such as given in the article. The article should probably be extended e.g. with reference to the V number for step index fibers.

Proposed merge of Quadruply clad fiber into Single-mode optical fiber

Can be covered within the scope of the wider article. Emir of Wikipedia (talk) 13:32, 7 February 2021 (UTC)

  Y Merge completed Klbrain (talk) 16:24, 21 August 2021 (UTC)

OS1/OS2 and wavelength

The existing sentence about OS1/OS2 is confusing about which wavelengths they support, maybe switch to something like "that can both be used". — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2603:3023:51E:D500:0:0:0:6FB8 (talk) 20:14, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

What's unclear with OS1 and OS2 are standard single-mode optical fiber used with wavelengths 1310 nm and 1550 nm?

The text is still unclear. It looks as if OS1 is only for 1310 nm, and OS2 is only for 1550 nm. Moreover, the typical attenuation depends on both the wavelength and the type of fiber.Voproshatel (talk) 08:29, 3 June 2025 (UTC)

I think if fixed it. Creating a table might be even more helpful; Something like Multi-mode_optical_fiber#Comparison. ~Kvng (talk) 19:14, 8 June 2025 (UTC)

Ambiguous caption

The caption for https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Single_mode_fiber1.jpg is confusing: “Cross section of a single-mode optical fiber patch cord end, taken with a fiberscope. The circle is the cladding. . . .”

I am seeing at least 5 circles in that picture. Which one is the cladding? 209.145.84.194 (talk) 16:22, 28 April 2025 (UTC)

I see three circles. The outermost circle is the cladding. I have clarified. The innermost is the fiber and the offset circle is light from the fiberscope. ~Kvng (talk) 14:52, 1 May 2025 (UTC)