Certified Fiber Optics Practice Exam

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Graded index fibers utilize concentric layers of glass to reduce what?

Modal dispersion
Intermodal interference
Attenuation
Fabrication errors

The correct answer is: Modal dispersion

Graded index fibers are designed with multiple concentric layers of glass that each have a slightly different refractive index. This configuration primarily serves to reduce modal dispersion, which occurs in multimode fibers when light travels through different paths or modes. The varying refractive indices allow light rays that strike the fiber core at different angles to be bent back towards the core more efficiently. As a result, light traveling on different paths arrives at the end of the fiber at closer times, minimizing the spread of the light pulse over distance and significantly improving signal clarity. In this way, graded index fibers can support higher data rates over longer distances by reducing modal dispersion compared to step-index fibers, which do not utilize this graded approach. The reduced modal dispersion facilitates better performance in communication systems using multimode fiber optics.