1970

Fiber Optic Communication

Robert Maurer (b. 1924), Donald Keck (b. 1941), Peter Schultz (b. 1942)

If we were to look back at the history of communications cables, say for long distance phone calls, we would find that the first cables were bundles of copper pairs. A cable like this is big, bulky, and heavy. The next step was coaxial cable. Many phone calls could be multiplexed onto the cable. This used less copper per call and reduced the number of repeaters (signal amplifiers) required.

But the real breakthrough came with the commercialization of optical fiber technology for data transmission. Drs. Robert Maurer, Donald Keck, and Peter Schultz, working for Corning, began to explore the possibilities of low-loss fiber. This resulted in the first optical fiber capable of maintaining laser light signals long distance in 1970. The first commercial lines arrived around 1977 and the technology has exploded since then. Nearly every bit of data (including phone calls) that travels across the country or around the world flows through a fiber optic line today.

The transition from copper to fiber has happened because fiber is better than copper in every way. Fiber is lighter, less expensive, immune to electromagnetic interference, and difficult to tap. Most importantly, a fiber optic line can transmit further before it needs a repeater and it can carry far more data on a single line.

The basic idea behind fiber optic lines is also incredibly simple. If you take a glass rod, heat it, and stretch it, you can make a thin strand of glass many miles long. If you stick a laser diode at one end of the strand and a light sensor at the other end, and then flash the laser on to represent a 1 and off to represent a 0, you can send digital data. If the glass in the rod is exceedingly clear, light can travel for 50 miles (80 km) or more before it needs a repeater.

SEE ALSO Telegraph System (1837), Telephone (1876), TAT-1 Undersea Cable (1956), ARPANET (1969).

In terms of long distance communication, fiber optic cables are superior to copper coaxial cables in just about every way.