Group index - Ratio of speed of light in a vacuum to the speed of propagation of the light signal in a fiber. IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. Group active in defining standards through subcommittees. Insertion loss - Loss of power resulting from the insertion of a component or device into the optical path. Laser - Light source producing coherent light through simulated emission.
Fiber optics uses solid state semiconductor type lasers.
Loss - A decrease in power from one point to another specified in dB units. Mode coupling - Energy exchange between modes of light propagating in an optical fiber. Multimode fiber - Optical fiber supporting more than one propagating mode. Multipath interface - Noise at the receiver due to interference of delayed signals from multiple reflection points. NIST - National Institute of Standards and Technology.