Optical fiber ribbon cables for broader applications

This paper discusses the ribbon concept with emphasis on new and unusual applications. To generally meet the need of increasing transmission capacity in telecommunication and other networks, cables and bundles with higher fiber counts are required. In several applications the ribbon concept serves as an ideal way to handle these higher fiber counts. We will also show that even a 2-fiber ribbon has a future. This paper covers applications in particle physics experiments, under the sea, in the home, and the usual computing and telecommunication networking environments. A short introduction to a new draft IEC nuclear radiation test method is also included.