Everything you need to know about fiber optic cables- Including OM5

Single-mode fiber optic cables have a fiber trunk cable of 8.3 to 10 microns (in diameter) and a cladding size of 125 microns.  Single-mode cables are normally used in long distance applications with lasers for the optical transmission devices.  OS1 and OS2 are the standard types of single-mode fiber cables.  Both types of fiber cables are built to perform between 1310 nm and 1550 nm, but the OS2 types of cables have a better transmission performance especially over longer distances.

 

Multi-mode mtp cable have a typical core size of either 50 microns or 62.5 microns.  They have a cladding size of 125 microns.  Shorter cables distances, especially in data centers, are common uses for multi-mode cables.  Multimode cables are typically manufactured to certain specifications and are classified by Optical Mode categories.  These Optical Modes are known as OM1, OM2, OM3, OM4, and OM5.  OM1 fiber optic cables have a 62.5 micron core size.  All the other OM types listed below have 50 micron core sizes.