1. Transmission brackets

The transmission medium is the decisive factor in the performance of a link between two communicating systems. Thanks to advances in microelectronics, it is still possible to build a system capable of high transmission rates. But whether transmission takes place on copper, in the ether or on glass, the intrinsic characteristics of this medium must be taken into account, as they will limit the link's performance.

We'll take a closer look at the system characteristics of transmission media such as optical fibers and electrical cables. Then we'll compare the various limiting factors associated with guided links, and finally turn our attention to free-space links.

In both cases, the parameters to be taken into account when comparing electrical and optical links are :

• mitigation ;

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