Can Single Mode Fiber Be Used For Multimode

Single mode fiber needs to be used with laser diode based fiber optic transmission equipment for precise calibration required to inject light into the fiber optic cable while multimode fiber is usually used with led based fiber optic equipment for short distance transmissions.

Can single mode fiber be used for multimode. Multi mode fiber has a fairly large core diameter that enables multiple light modes to be propagated and limits the maximum length of a transmission link because of modal dispersion. Large optical loss will occur if a multimode transceiver is connected with single mode fiber. Multi mode optical fiber is a type of optical fiber mostly used for communication over short distances such as within a building or on a campus. Multimode fiber is limited in its reach.

Hence it is limited by modal dispersion while single mode is not. However the opposite will work. Multi mode links can be used for data rates up to 100 gbit s. If mode conditioning patch cables are not used and instead a normal multi mode fiber is used with a single mode transceiver module the single mode transceiver module will launch the light directly in the center of the cable causing multiple light signals to be generated thus confusing the receiving module.

Multi mode options single mode much like air travel can get you to your destination much faster. Can i use a multimode transceiver on single mode fiber. The led light sources sometimes used with multi mode fiber produce a range of wavelengths and these each propagate at different speeds. Om1 and om2 fiber patch cable can support the data rate up.

The image below displays the difference between standard sc multimode patch cable and sc mode conditioning patch cable. However according to the custom in the industry 850nm over multimode fiber and 1310nm or 1550nm over single mode fiber are still the mainstream. Based on fiber performance calculations single mode fiber can be used in distances up to 10 km 6 21 miles for certain ethernet protocols. Generally speaking the answer is no.

And to operate multimode fibers at 1310nm is also commonly done now. For example 1000base lx single mode sfp can work on multimode fiber cable by using mode conditioning fiber cable. Multimode fiber cable is a little more complex than single mode fiber cable since it includes four different types of om1 om2 om3 om4. Sfp is the special type of transceiver that can both support single mode and multimode fibers.

It is possible to use 1550nm or 1310nm sfp over multimode fiber or 850nm sfp over single mode fiber.