Structure of Coaxial Cable

Coaxial cable can be described based on its layers

1. Inner Conductor

The innermost layer of the coaxial cable is made up of the conductor the conductor is generally either made of copper or aluminum. This is the part of the cable that carries the electrical signals in the form of either digital signal or analog signals.

2. Insulating Material

The Insulating material also called the dielectric is the material surrounding the inner conductor. It provides insulation between the inner conductor and the outer layers of the coaxial cable. Common dielectric cables can include polypropylene or polyethylene.

3. Metallic Shield

The metallic shield is used to provide electromagnetic shielding over the dielectric. These metallic shields help in preventing external electromagnetic interference from disturbing the signal carried by the inner conductor. This shield can either be made of foil or braided. This metallic shield is grounded to improve performance.

4. Outer Conductor

This outer conductor is present in coaxial cables which are used in high frequency applications.This acts as one more layer of protection and is separated by the inner shield by a layer of the dielectric.

5. Outer Insulating Jacket

The coaxial cable is enclosed inside an insulating jacket, which protect the coaxial cable from physical damage,environmental changes etc. Both conductors share a common central axial, hence the term comes as “Co-axial”. Coaxial cables are widely employed for data transmission due to their high bandwidth capabilities and good shielding capacity.

Coaxial Cable is the fundamental concept in networking and communication due to its ability to serve as a transmission medium for a wide range of signals. Within the domain of coaxial cable, there are two categories named: Broadband and Baseband. These distinctions are important in determining the type of transmission and the application related to it. Baseband coaxial cables are known for their ability to transfer data over long distances and also their design which allows them to carry multiple signals simultaneously. On the other hand, Basebands are coaxial cables that can only transmit data at a short distance and can carry a single digital signal. Baseband and Broadband communication are very efficient approaches to utilizing coaxial cables for transferring data.