Physical Layer

The Physical Layer
•The purpose of the physical layer is to transport a raw bit

stream from one machine to another.
•Various physical media can be used for the actual

transmission.
•Media are roughly grouped into guided media, such as

copper wire and fiber optics, wireless (terrestrial radio) and
satellite.
Transmission Media
There are two categories of transmission media:
Guided media
Unguided media
• Guided Transmission Media uses a "cabling" system

that guides the data signals along a specific path.
• The data signals are bound by the "cabling" system.
• Guided Media is also known as Bound Media.

Transmission Media
• Unguided Transmission Media consists of a means for

the data signals to travel but nothing to guide them
along a specific path.
• The data signals are not bound to a cabling media and

as such are often called Unbound Media.
Guided Transmission Data
• Twisted Pair
• Coaxial Cable
• Fiber Optics
Twisted pair
Twisted Pair
• Two insulated copper wires about 1 mm thick
arranged in a spiral pattern.
• The wires are twisted to reduce radiations.
• The signal is transmitted through one wire and a
ground reference is transmitted in the other wire.
• Typical application is the telephone system.
• All telephones are connected to office by a
twisted pair.
• It can run several kilometers without amplifiers
but repeaters are needed.
Twisted Pair
• Can be used for transmitting either analog or
digital signals.
Several varieties of twisted pair cabling:

• Category 3- Two insulate wires gently twisted
together.
• Four such pairs are grouped together in a plastic
sheath to protect the wires and keep them
together.
Twisted Pair
Category 5-
• More twists per centimeters which results in less
crosstalk and a better quality signal over longer
distances, making them more suitable for high
speed computer communication.
• Four such pairs are grouped together in a plastic
sheath to protect the wires and keep them
together.
All these wiring types are often referred to as UTP-

Unshielded Twisted Pair
Twisted Pair
(a) Category 3 UTP. (b) Category 5 UTP.

Coaxial cable
Coaxial Cable
Copper core
Insulating Braided
material Protective
outer plastic
conductor covering
• It has better shielding than twisted pair, so it can span longer
distances at higher speeds.
Two kinds
• 50-ohm cable for digital transmission
• 75-ohm for analog transmission and cable tv
• Coaxial cable consists of a stiff copper wire as the core
surrounded by an insulating material.
• The insulator is encased by a cylindrical conductor
• The outer conductor is covered in a protective plastic sheath
• It provide high bandwidth(data transfer rate) and excellent
noise immunity.
• Coaxial cable provides much higher bandwidth than twisted
pair.
Coaxial Cable
Fiber Optics
• An optical transmission system has three key components. The
light source, transmission medium, and the detector.
• A pulse of light indicates a 1 bit and absence of light indicates a 0

bit.
• The transmission medium is an ultra thin fiber of glasses.
• The detector generates an electrical pulse when light falls on it.

Fiber Optics
• By attaching a light source to one end of an optical fiber and a
detector to the other, we have a unidirectional data transmission
system that accepts an electrical signal, converts and transmits it
by light pulses and then reconverts the output to an electrical
signal at the receiving end.
Fiber Optics
a) Optical Fiber consists of thin glass fibers that can carry information at
frequencies in the visible light spectrum and beyond.
b) The typical optical fiber consists of a very narrow strand of glass called the
Core. Around the Core is a concentric layer of glass called the Cladding.
c) A typical Core diameter is 62.5 microns (1 micron = 10-6 meters).
d) Typically Cladding has a diameter of 125 microns.
e) Coating of the cladding is a protective coating consisting of plastic, it is called

the Jacket
Fiber Cables
(a) Side view of a single fiber.

(b) End view of a sheath with three fibers.

Physical Layer

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Physical Layer

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The Physical Layer

•The purpose of the physical layer is to transport a raw bit

•Various physical media can be used for the actual

•Media are roughly grouped into guided media, such as

• Guided Transmission Media uses a "cabling" system

• The data signals are bound by the "cabling" system.

• Guided Media is also known as Bound Media.

• Unguided Transmission Media consists of a means for

• The data signals are not bound to a cabling media and

Several varieties of twisted pair cabling:

All these wiring types are often referred to as UTP-

(a) Category 3 UTP. (b) Category 5 UTP.

• A pulse of light indicates a 1 bit and absence of light indicates a 0

• The transmission medium is an ultra thin fiber of glasses.

• The detector generates an electrical pulse when light falls on it.

c) A typical Core diameter is 62.5 microns (1 micron = 10-6 meters).

d) Typically Cladding has a diameter of 125 microns.

e) Coating of the cladding is a protective coating consisting of plastic, it is called

(a) Side view of a single fiber.

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