As shown in the figure, at the center is the glass core through which the light propagates. In multimode fibers, the core is typically 50 microns in diameter. In single mode fibers, the core is 8 to 10 microns. The core is surrounded by a glass cladding with a lower index of refraction than the core, to keep all the light in the core. A thin plastic jacket is used to protect the cladding. Fibers are grouped in bundles, protected by an outer sheath.
Fibers can be connected in three different ways. First they can terminate in connectors and be plugged into fiber sockets. Connectors lose about 10 to 20 percent of the light, but they make it easy to reconfigure systems. Second they can be spliced mechanically. Mechanical splices just lay the two carefully – cut ends next to each other in a special sleeve and clamp them in place. Alignment can be improved by passing light through the junction and then making small adjustments to maximize the signal. Third, two pieces of fiber can be fused to form a solid connection. A fusion splice is almost as good as a single drawn fiber.