What is the primary material used for the core of fiber-optic cables?

What is the primary material used for the core of fiber-optic cables?

• A. Glass
• B. Copper
• C. Aluminum
• D. Plastic

Answer: (A)

Fiber-optic cables guide light by keeping it inside a transparent core and using the surrounding cladding with a lower refractive index to keep the light reflected back in. The material for that core is glass, specifically silica glass, because it is highly transparent to the infrared wavelengths used in communications and has very low signal loss. This allows light signals to travel long distances with minimal attenuation. Copper and aluminum are metals used for electrical cables, not for guiding light, and while plastic optical fiber exists, the most common and widely used core material in telecommunications is glass. So the primary core material is glass.

Fiber-optic cables guide light by keeping it inside a transparent core and using the surrounding cladding with a lower refractive index to keep the light reflected back in. The material for that core is glass, specifically silica glass, because it is highly transparent to the infrared wavelengths used in communications and has very low signal loss. This allows light signals to travel long distances with minimal attenuation. Copper and aluminum are metals used for electrical cables, not for guiding light, and while plastic optical fiber exists, the most common and widely used core material in telecommunications is glass. So the primary core material is glass.