OS1 vs OS2 Fiber, What is the Difference?
We discussed the single mode and multimode fiber differences in the earlier Article. But do you know single mode is also classified as OS1 and OS2 fiber? As part of our series of fiber optic guides, we will focus on this topic in today’s Article.
we are going to discuss the below topics.
- What is OS1 Fiber?
- What is OS2 Fiber
- OS1 vs OS2 Fiber, What is the Difference?
- How to choose?
What is OS1 Fiber?
OS1 generally refers to a single mode fiber whose mechanical, optical, and environmental characteristics conform to the ITU-T G.652A and ITU-T G.652B standards (conventional). However, the low water peak fibers classified as ITU-T G.652C and G.652D also belong to the usual OS1 fibers. It is a tightly buffered fiber with 1.0 dB/km attenuation, mainly for short-distance transmission in indoor plants, usually up to 2 km under 10 Gigabit Ethernet. As an old legacy fiber, OS1 has lower performance requirements than OS2, is easier to manufacture, and is less costly than OS2 fiber.
What is OS2 Fiber?
Unlike OS1, OS2 fiber refers to single mode low-water peak fibers that comply with ITU-T G.652C and ITU-T G.652D specifications. In the real world, OS2 fiber usually refers to the G.652D. ITU-T G.652A or G.652B fibers are unsuitable for 1383nm transmission due to their high attenuation characteristics. The G.652D fiber enhances this performance to support the full-spectrum transmission with low attenuation values in this band.
Therefore, this fiber can be used for full-band CWDM and DWDM applications, thus maximizing fiber utilization. With a maximum of 0.4dB/km attenuation, this fiber is primarily suitable for long-distance transmission in outdoor applications. It can typically support network throughputs of up to 100 Gbit/s and a maximum distance of about 200 km.
OS1 vs OS2 Fiber, What is the Difference?
After discussing the single mode fiber basics, let us quickly examine their differences. The simple comparison chart is below.
