Created by C. Mani, Principal, K V No.1, AFS, Jalahalli West, Bangalore
Created by C. Mani, Principal, K V No.1, AFS, Jalahalli West, Bangalore
A twisted pair of wires consists of two insulated copper wires twisted around
each other at regular intervals.
If the wires run parallel without twisting, then the electrical interference will
be more for the wire close to the source of noise than the wire away from the
source of noise. As a result of this, a distorted signal is available at the
receiving end.
So, to minimize the electrical interference, two wires are twisted around each
other.
Twisted pair wires are used to connect telephone systems. Usually many
twisted pairs parallel to each other are grouped in the form of a bundle which
is encased in a protective sheath.
In case of twisted pair wires, signals having frequency range 100 Hz to 5 MHz
are transmitted.
Coaxial Line:
It is also called unbalanced line. Such a line resembles a rounded cable.
It is commonly used by TV Cable operators.
Inner Insulation
These cables do not suffer from radiation problems and be used for
microwave and UHF region.
The inner and outer conductors are separated with the help of low
dielectric. The common insulations are Polyethylene and Teflon.
Coaxial cables can be gas filled also. To reduce flash over between the
conductor handling high power, nitrogen gas is used in the cable. Dry air
can also be used under high pressure to avoid moisture in the cable.
These cables can find wide application for frequencies between 1 GHz and
20 GHz.
Advantages:
(i) Coaxial cable is well protected than an ordinary twisted pair of wires, so
communication through cables is more efficient than through the twisted
pairs.
(ii) The speed of transmission of signals is more than that of twisted pairs.
(iii) Electrical signals of higher frequencies (100 kHz to 500 kHZ) are
transmitted through the cables than through the twisted pair wires.
Equivalent Circuit of a Transmission Line:
L R L R L R L L L
Insulation ≡ C G C G ≡ C C
R + jωL
Z0 =
G + jωC
L
At radio frequency, expression for characteristic impedance is Z0 =
C
(R and G are insignificant)
276 2S 138 D
Z0 = log Z0 = log
√k d √k d
d
d D
S
Velocity Factor of a Line:
Velocity factor (v.f) of a cable is the ratio of reduction of speed of light in the
dielectric of the cable. c
v= (where c is speed of light and k is
√k dielectric constant)
By definition, v = (v.f) c So, v.f = 1 / √k For a line, velocity factor is
generally of the order of 0.6 to 0.9
Losses in a Line:
Different types of lines cause different amount of energy losses. These losses
can be due to Joule’s heating in conductors, dielectric heating of insulation,
radiation, etc.
Joule’s Heating is given by H = I2Rt
Dielectric losses are proportional to the voltage across the insulation. These
losses increase with frequency. Dielectric heating is inversely proportional to
the characteristic impedance for any power transmitted by the line.
1. Core: It is made of glass / silica / plastic of refractive index (say n1) with
approximate diameter of 10 to 100 μm.
2. Cladding: It is made of glass or plastic with refractive index n2 (n2 < n1)
with approximate diameter of 100 to 400 μm. Cladding is of two types:
Step-index fibre in which the refractive index changes abruptly;
Graded-index fibre in which the refractive index changes gradually.
3. Buffer Jacket: It is plastic coating which houses the core-cladding and
provides safety and strength.
Types of Optical Fibre:
i>ic
Core (n1 = 1.7)
0.2 dB/km.
0.2
0 Wavelength (nm) 1550 nm
3. Dispersion:
As the optical pulses travel forward in the optical fibre, the pulses are
broadened due to dispersion and the adjacent pulses may overlap. So,
dispersion limits the distance of data transmission and transmission speed
of data.
Laser has a narrower line width and hence dispersion will be the least.
Dispersion depends on fibre dimensions i.e. core diameter. It is also due to
frequency dependence of refractive index of the fibre material.
Advantages of Optical Fibres:
1. Optical fibres are the best for wavelength multiplexing i.e. innumerable
signals of differing but nearby wavelengths can be sent along the same
fibre.
A pair of optical fibres can carry 3000 telephone calls simultaneously
whereas only dozens of telephone calls can be carried by a pair of copper
wires and that also by special methods only.
2. They are the best suited for digital transmission and switching systems.
3. A normal optic fibre cable is 1/6th in diameter as compared to coaxial cable.
4. Optic fibre communication is free from electromagntic interference and
noise.
5. Optical fibres are virtually free from losses. The intensity of the information
transmitted by electric current flowing in copper wires become weak. But,
the messages, data or picture sent through optical fibres remain
undisturbed and hence can be transmitted through thousands of kilometers.
6. Optical communication can not be jammed as easily as radio waves can be
jammed.
7. Light has higher frequency than electric current and so optical fibres can
transmit higher band widths.
8. Optic fibres are becoming economical day by day.